Hunter
by TrueGaaraRose
Summary: Only once we have lost everything, are we free to do anything.
1. Chapter 1

**My first fanfic, well here goes nothing. I hope you like it.**

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><p>An escort mission, which was all it was supposed to be. So how did it end up like this?<p>

It was a normal day in Konoha when Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru and Choji received their mission. It was a basic escort mission, but required battle ready guides. They were to escort a young woman, who claimed she fled to the village after her home was attacked by a clan of violent ninjas, to her brother's home in a distant village. She was worried about the attackers coming after her so she paid for extra protection.

So now Ino and her team walked along side of the woman. It was a warm day with a cool breeze, and trees were in bloom. Ino secretly was glad that they had to walk, it was a beautiful spring day and she felt like enjoying it. However the other two were obviously less than thrilled about this particular mission. Shikamaru grumbled about how troublesome it was to walk and Choji was equally as irritated, just a bit less expressive about it. Ino turned her attention to the girl that they were escorting. Her name was Umeko. Umeko had shoulder length brown hair and brown eyes. She had small features and pale skin. She was so small and thin that Ino wondered how she ever escaped from the ninjas alive.

"I think we should rest here for the night." Shikamaru announced suddenly. Everyone came to abrupt halt and stared at him. "This location is elevated and provides an excellent lookout post," motioning to a single tree that towered above the others. "Also we are far enough away from any possible target villages so we should not have to worry too much about an attack." Choji eagerly agreed and began setting up the tent. "And you two lazy asses are just tired of walking" Ino thought too herself.

Once all the tents were set up, Ino volunteered to take the first look out post. Looking around as she climbed up the tree, she couldn't help but agree that this was a good location to rest. From the top branch of the tree, a sprawling landscape became visible. The forest was massive, and at this rate, it will take forever before they reach their destination. Sighing she settled down into a comfortable position to begin the long watch.

Ino awoke with a start at a sudden falling sensation. She reached out blindly for a tree branch and flipped back up to a stable location. Had she fallen asleep? Strangely she never remembered closing her eyes. Shaking her head and scolding herself, she looked up at the sky. The moon was still shining giving everything around her smudged shadows. It was still night, good. She hated to think about what Shikamaru would say if he found her sleeping on the job.

Morning came with a brilliant sunrise. Ino stretched her stiff muscles and noiselessly hopped down from the tree. Opening the flap to Umeko's tent she found the girl twisted in her sleeping bag. This was the obvious sign of a nightmare; poor thing must be reliving the horrible event of her village's massacre. "Rise and Shine" she called softly to the stirring figure. After waking Umeko she proceeded to Shikamaru and Choji's tent. Ripping the flap open allowing the bright sunshine to spill into the dark tent, she hollered at them to get a move on. It was troublesome to wake them up; those two could sleep all day.

The next day was not much different than the first, lots of walking and the occasional break for food. Thanks to Choji they had enough of that. However it was the second night that things began to get interesting.

The team had set up camp in another strategic location selected by Shikamaru and Ino had volunteered for lookout duty again. She felt guilty about falling asleep last night and was going to make up for it by staying awake the whole night this time. Both of the boys didn't ask any questions, relived that they were not the ones doing it.

A large silver moon cast odd angles of light on the forest, causing everything to be oddly out of proportion. Ino paced on a tall rock formation in order to keep herself awake. Finally she sat down. Her head jerked down just as something whizzed past her neck. Immediately, she was alert and focused, searching for her attacker. However when she looked down she saw a small figure with pale skin and wide eyes, Umeko.

The moon's shadows caused her thing features to appear almost skeletal, and her wide eyes resembled those of a small child who had just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Before Ino had any time to react, the girl was off. Ino, not wasting a second, sped after her. "Umeko!" Ino called loudly, "What's wrong, come back!" It was useless, for someone so small she could move pretty fast. Ino came to a halt at a cliff wall. Umeko stood there, backed up against the wall. Ino approached calmly, not wanting to hurt her client, "Umeko, what was that for?" Ino waited for her answer as she put the pieces together in her mind. Could Umeko have something to do with her falling asleep last night? Ino grimaced, how she could be so idiotic as to not check on the tents after she discovered that she had fallen asleep. Ino was a short distance from the girl now, "Umeko?" she asked one last time with a bit more force. In response the pale girl pulled out a hollow bamboo rod, and before Ino could strike, fired a single red flare into the night sky. The dark red light glinted downward on her face. Her hollow cheeks disappeared in darker shadows and Umeko grinned. In the red light of the signal and the silver of the moon, Umeko looked like an undead skeleton straight from hell. Ino lunged and grabbed Umeko's wrist that still held the rod. "What the hell is going on here!" she yelled at the girl. Umeko smiled at her and looked up. Ino followed her gaze to the edge of the cliff. The once bare cliff side was now lined with hooded nin. Ino gulped, they had been betrayed, and she was in some deep shit.

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><p><strong>My first chapter! Its a mixture of pride and embarassment. If you read this far then it is a sucess. Tell me what you think of it.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

The hooded nin advanced on her. Several of them attacked her at once. She deflected all of their attacks and managed to send a chakra enhanced punch into three stomachs and kick the other three into each other. Several more advanced on her, and she deflected them again, and again, and again. Panting, she braced for the next round of attacks. When it did not come she looked around. "Maybe they got tired." Ino thought with a smirk. Straitening up, she looked around. "Is that it?" she asked, "I was hoping for more of a challenge." A tall woman with hair poking out of her hood smirked back at her. "As you wish," the woman replied. She then promptly bit her thumb and slammed it onto the ground.

A cloud of smoke appeared and began to part giving way to a monstrous sight. Ino gasped, standing in front of her was some giant winged beast. Its head curved into an elongated beak and was attached to a long scaly neck. Two massive wings made from a thin membrane protruded from its arched back, and were each topped with sharp claws. Beneath its belly there were two feet bearing ferocious looking talons. Its entire body was covered with a layer of slime that dripped to the ground forming puddles of thick, yellow mud. However the one feature Ino noticed that could help her in battle was the thick cuff around its neck. Attached to the cuff were three metal chains enforced with chakra. Each chain was held by a strong looking man. It was obvious that they had a hard time controlling this creature. If she could get to the men holding the chain, maybe there was a way for her to avoid fighting this thing.

"Vogel," said the woman, "kill." The creature, whose name apparently was Vogel, gave a disgusting shriek and launched its head at Ino. Ino propelled herself into the air and over Vogel's head. She landed on the side of the cliff face and sent a kunai towards the back of the monster's head. It landed right on target and the creature raised its head in shock. It began to shake violently as Ino began to speed around it. Throwing its head in several places where Ino had previously landed. Every time she landed, she would send a shuriken into another part of its body. However this time, when she landed behind Vogel and out of the chain holder's sight, she sent three explosion tag kunai into the base of the cliff. All three of them landed under a separate chain holder and began to fizz. These particular tags would take a little longer to ignite. This way she could continue distracting Vogel and the other hooded nin, without suspicion. When she attempted to leap into the air again, she found herself stuck to the ground. Looking down she realized that she had landed in one of the puddles of mud that Vogel had created with his slime. "Shit!" she cried when this horrible realization struck her. Ino barley had time to think of a way out of the sticky situation before a giant talon came crashing down onto her back, nearly knocking her unconscious. More slime oozed onto her, further binding her to the filthy creature. A sharp beak hovered inches from her neck and Ino squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to find a way out of this.

"Poor girl." It was the hooded woman. Ino looked up into her gleaming eyes. "You thought you had a chance." Ino fought to say something, but Vogel's slime had dripped down to cover her mouth. Ino wanted to throw up, but found herself unable to do so. A sharp needle pierced her skin and drew blood into a hollow syringe. Ino stared at the woman in disbelief, what the hell was that for? The woman held up the syringe and examined its contents. The dark red blood seemed almost black in the moonlight. The next thing the woman did took Ino by surprise. She jammed the needle into her own wrist and injected Ino's blood into her own body. Dropping the needle, she began to perform several hand signs. Ino began to thrash under the heavy talons of Vogel. Whatever was going on here, it needed to end. The woman sighed. "Are you familiar with the Kapuzen-Katze clan?" she asked. Ino shook her head. She sighed again, "Our clan is an ancient one, but have never been reconized b any of the hidden villages." The woman began to quicken the movement of her hands. "You see, we are a clan of numerous forbidden techniques and many are intimidated by their power." The hand signs stopped. Slowly lifting her hood, Ino watched in horror at the face reviled underneath. It was her own.

Clear blue eyes smiled back at her. The woman's cloak fell to the ground, revealing Ino's signature purple outfit and body. The false Ino grinned back at her and began to giggle. " The Kapuzen-Katzen clan has developed the perfect imitation technique," motioning to her body. "I must now stay in this form forever, and every last detail is an exact replica. Because we used your blood, I even can mimic your voice, laugh, habits, techniques…etcetera. This technique is so advanced, that I even have slivers of your most important memories!" Ino's eyes widened in dismay. "I can now seamlessly fit into your life and begin our invasion of Konoha, from the inside." Ino shook in disgust, but it was useless. Her arms were still glued to the talons and the harder she struggled, the more slime leaked onto her. "Umeko, you did a wonderful job at fooling the three idiots." Umeko stepped forward followed by a false Shikamaru and Choji. "Really it is so easy to deceive these ninja. Now only three more villages to go." False Ino gave another cackle of triumph. "Vogel you may have your dinner now." Vogel snapped at her shoulder creating a long gash, and began make a strange gurgling noise that Ino could only decipher as amusement. Vogel brought its head to its full height and prepared to bring it crashing down onto Ino.

A loud explosion caught Vogel's attention before it could make anymore movements. Ino stretched her neck to a point where she could see her explosion tags beginning to light. The second one ignited and Vogel began to go wild. This could be her chance, Ino thrust her chin down into a rock and began to pull herself forward, the slime was still stuck to Vogel's talon and it made it hard for Ino to get any distance. "WHAT THE…" the Ino impersonator was cut off midsentence when one of the heavy chains that had previously been holing Vogel swung over her head and she had to dodge it. The third tag exploded, sending the man holding it several feet into the air.

Vogel didn't miss its chance, using its massive wings; it began to lift itself into the sky. The hooded nin on the ground scrambled to grab hold of the creature's chains, but Vogel was already too high and beginning to pick up speed. False Ino shouted at them to leave it alone and stick with the mission. So Vogel the vulgar soared into the night carrying a panicked Ino with it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto**

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><p>Three years later.<p>

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><p>"Kazakage-sama." Kankurō entered the small office carrying an armful of multicolored scrolls. "Here are today's reports." He set them down in a neat pile on the Kazakage's already covered desk. Kankurō straitened up and stood by the desk waiting to be dismissed. Without glancing up from his work Gaara raised his hand and issued a thank you. Kankurō nodded and headed out.<p>

Gaara rolled up the scroll he had finished working on and placed it in another pile next to his desk. Finally looking at the scrolls that Kankurō had delivered, he noticed the bright red one that sat on top. The red coloring obviously indicating a possible threat to the village. Selecting the scroll he broke the seal and began to read the report.

_Kazakage-sama, teams of returning ninja have reported sightings of large and strange looking beasts a few hundred kilometers from the village. One of the beasts attacked a member of one of the teams, inflicting serious damage, he was a jonin. The beast was attacking in attempt to devour him. The team fled quickly after the attack, so not much information can be obtained about them. There is a possibility that the beasts are headed for Sunagakure and could attack the village. We have no whereabouts about what they are or where they came from._

That was all that it said, still this message worried Gaara. He sat back in his chair and placed one hand under his chin and began to list options. He could send out a team to collect information on the sighted beasts, but he did not want what happened to the other team to happen to anyone else. He continued to list several methods of dealing with the problem until he came to the most reasonable one, he would go out himself and have Kankurō wait for him nearby. This would keep everyone safe, and not to mention, he could get out of the office for a little while. Gaara stood and notified the guard to give Kankurō the scroll he had written. The guard nodded and was immediately off.

Kankurō landed at Suna's gate to find Gaara waiting for him. Earlier that day the young guard had approached him and handed him a small scroll. He said it was an urgent message from the Kazakage, and then left. Kankurō instantly tore open the scroll and read. It informed him about the monsters and of the Kazakage's plan. So now Kankurō sped after Gaara as they raced thru the desert chasing monsters.

Finally after an hour of running, or in Gaara's case, gliding over the sand, they began to slow. "Some thing is over that way," said Gaara. He motioned beyond a massive dune. Gaara sped towards the direction of the unknown source of chakra. Kankurō was about to follow when he picked up another strange chakra signature from the opposite direction. He decided to wait at the base of the dune incase he needed to alert Gaara of the other creature.

Gaara sensed the presence getting closer and slowed down. Sand began to move around his feet as he got closer. Finally a faint figure came into view. It was farther off in the distance and the heat of the desert distorted its shape with heat waves. Gaara continued his slow advance until it was fully visible. What he saw shocked him.

The creature before his was not the beast that the report described, but a woman. The woman was tall with long blond hair that donned a striking purple streak. Form fitting clothing hugged a strong yet graceful body. A cut off top revealed a slim bare midriff that was marked with a long curved scar that continued to her back. The fabric of her top was a patchwork of purple fabric and what appeared to be scaled animal skin, and it accented her large bust perfectly. A slit skirt of the same type of material hung around her waist. Both the top and the skirt had several blood stains dotting their surfaces. A thick black belt containing several small pouches was slung loosely over her hips. Instead of shoes her feet were bound in dirty bandages and strips of animal hide. A garter made from a sort of thin black material that had several animal teeth, bones and odd stones on short strings hanging from it, looped around her upper right thigh. Her right arm was wound entirely with more bandages. A wide chocker made from the same material as the garter bound her neck, and hanging from it was a single glassy demon eye. Her face possessed attractive features like full lips and a delicate nose, but they had evidently seen better days. Blond bangs covered her right eye and the other looked at him with an expression of wary suspicion.

"Name yourself." Gaara demanded in his deep intimidating voice. He waited for a reply but his words seemingly had no effect on her. She continued to stare at him and he continued to watch her. "Who are you and where do you come from?" Gaara asked the woman again, with even more power in his voice. This time he seemed to get a reaction out of her. She straightened up and looked him dead in the eye, not something many people are able to do. Her dry lips parted to form a single word. "Ino."

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><p><strong>Wooo! Finally the character everyone has been waiting for...Gaara...I will try my hardest to keep him in character.<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

Ino's voice was rough sounding, like it had not been used for some time. It appeared as though she had walked all the way though the harsh desert, but showed no signs of severe dehydration. Gaara was about to ask her if she had anything to do with the strange beasts, but was interrupted by Kankurō's shouts.

Kankurō came barreling over the sand dune waving his arms and shouting. "Beast! There's a beast!" Right on cue, a massive creature appeared on the sand dune. The thing resembled a scaly pig with antlers, and it gave off an awful stench. The monster began to scrape its webbed feet in the sand and make several grunting noises. Swishing its ugly head, two small beady eyes came to rest on Ino, as if it were initiating a challenge. A challenge of life or death. Gaara tensed, preparing for the battle with the creature. He glanced over at Kankurō, who apparently was prepping himself for battle as well. Gaara then looked over at Ino. The young woman didn't appear to be frightened by the monster at all; in fact, she almost seemed bored by it. The monstrous swine gave a distorted cry and began charging toward the group. Gaara raised a wall of sand, and the creature smashed into it with another outburst of random noise. Before he could initiate another attack, Ino had already launched herself above the monster.

She unhooked a strange pointed handle rod from the left side of her belt. It had a dangerous looking pointed pattern at the bottom end and a wide slit at the top. With a flick of her wrist a long ribbon of different colored metal chinks shot out. The metal began to glow with chakra as she snaked the metal whip through the air. Its razor sharp sides sliced through the beast's antlers with a satisfying hiss. The creature responded to the attack by rearing its back legs in the air in an attempt to knock her down. Ino simply used her whip to sever off its rear legs. The now squealing beast fell to the ground with a thud that sent clouds of sand into the air. Before landing, Ino cut off its remaining legs. The beast's squeals sounded more gargled as blood poured out of several areas where body parts used to be. It bucked and withered on the ground pathetically, until Ino sent a solid punch into its chest. It stopped at once and fell silent, dead.

Kankurō stared at the woman in disbelief. How had she defeated that thing so _easily_? Especially after it had reportedly taken down a fully trained jonin. A loud sucking noise could be heard as she pulled her fist out of the beast's body. Her entire arm was soaked in the monster's blood. When she opened her hand, a single dark chink of metal rested in her palm. Using her blood soaked hand; she attached the metal chink onto the end of her whip. Once the chink was in place she flicked her wrist and the metal ribbon coiled back into the handle.

"Wha.."Stuttered Kankurō. "What was _that_?" He began to approach the woman but stopped himself. The look on her face told him that what she had just done was nothing special. However she seemed to give off an aura of wild beauty when she killed the beast. Kankurō looked over at the bloody corpse. Several of its body parts already lay in the blood soaked sand. He reached out to touch one of the antlers. "Don't" Kankurō looked over at the woman. Why can't he touch the antlers? Looking back over to the antlers, he noticed they were covered in small fine needles, much like a cactus. Letting heis hand drop to his side, he responded "Can you tell me your name?" "Her name is Ino," it was Gaara. Kankurō turned around in surprise and raised a brow. How did he know her name? "I interrogated her before the beast arrived," said Gaara answering Kankurō's unspoken question. "Where is she from?" questioned Kankurō. Gaara responded with a small shake of his head, he didn't know. Kankurō turned back around to face Ino. "Where are you from, what village?" Ino scrunched her brow and thought for a while. "…..I don't remember," she finally replied. Kankurō looked at her again, she was some interesting chick. "Well do you at least know where the monster came from?" Ino was silent for a bit before replying. "Yes…and no. I know the place well, but I don't know where it is." Well this was a lode of help. The young man sighed; it was like talking to a brick wall. He glanced over at her again…a very _hot_ brick wall. "Are there more of those monsters?" This time she gave no delay in her reply. "Yes, many, many more."

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><p>Gaara had taken note of everything this girl said and did. He could feel that she was dangerous. Her wild aurora was an obvious sign to that fact. She evidently knew about the monsters, and how to deal with them. If she knew how to fight the beasts, and sort of knew where they came from, maybe she could be of use. However it was obvious that she lacked socially. He could tell by the way that she looked at them, like they were the strange creatures and the beast was normal. Gaara didn't know if he should bring her back to Suna for interrogation or leave her here in the desert. However Kankurō decided to decide for him. "Why don't you come back to our village with us and you can tell us what you know about theses monsters," said Kankurō. This suggestion obviously took Ino by surprise. An expression of surprise and shock spread across her face, but quickly vanished. "Don't worry, this is the Kazakage," said Kankurō motioning towards Gaara, "and we won't hurt you. We just need your help."<p>

Ino's body language told Gaara that she knew that she had nothing to lose. So Ino gave a slight nod of her head and began walking towards Kankurō. He held out his hand but she ignored it and continued past him. Gaara took this as a signal that she would go with them and began to turn around to leave. Then he was off, accelerating through the desert. Ino could keep a good pace beside him as well. Kankurō shouted at them to wait up as he raced to catch up.

The three zoomed across the hot sand, leaving behind the carcass of the pig-beast to bake in the blazing sun.

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><p><strong>I really had fun writing this chapter. Kankuro is an awsome character to write about. I hope you like it so far, so please reveiw!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

The group of three arrived in the Kazakage's office as the sun was hovering above the horizon. Gaara unstrapped his gourd from his back and placed it beside his desk. Kankurō plunked down onto one of the two benches in the office, while Gaara calmly sat down into his desk chair. Ino stood near the window looking around, as if she didn't quite know what to do. Finally Kankurō suggested that she sit on the bench across from him. Ino cautiously sat down. However before she sat, she swept her hand across the bench in a fluid motion, without even looking, like it was some sort of habit. She still had her guard up and her eyes travel the room, surveying it. She looked at everything with a mixture of mild curiosity and suspicion. It seemed like she knew what everything was, but not what any of it did.

Finally Kankurō broke the silence. "Ino, how did you come to this country?" "I walked," she replied, not even looking at him. Kankurō sighed. "No, I mean how did you get here? Were you running from something, looking for someone…" he trailed off waiting for her answer. Ino contemplated his question before replying. "I was…escaping..." Her expression clearly told him that, that was all she was going to say on the matter. Gaara was the next to speak up. "The monsters. You know them well?" Ino looked over at him. "Yes… I know them better… than myself." Her eyes flashed a little and she seemed to draw herself in. it was evident that she had unintentionally revealed private information, or acknowledged something that she didn't even want to admit.

The silence continued. Gaara had begun working on the mounds of paper work that lay on his desk while Ino continued to inspect the room. Kankurō just sat there and stared at the other two. His eyes settled on Ino then on all of Gaara's paper work, and back to Ino again. The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. "Ino." The young woman's head jerked towards him. "Where did you say that you lived again?" Ino stared at him for a second. "I…don't live anywhere." Kankurō grinned. "Ok then, you can live here until we get the monster problem under control." She didn't have time to react before Kankurō laid out the rest of his plan. "And you can earn your room and board by working as Gaara's assistant."

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><p>It took a minute for them to realize that Kankurō was serious. Ino began to protest the ides but was cut off by Kankurō. "It's a good idea. The Kazakage has too much paper work that needs sorting and you need a place to stay. Also you can help protect the village if one of the monsters comes to attack. Besides it can't be good for Gaara to stay cooped up alone in this room all day." Kankurō sat back with a triumphant grin on his face, clearly thinking he had won this battle. Temari was away on a mission so she wasn't here to help Gaara talk his way out of this one. Gaara gave the puppeteer an irritated look. Kankurō obviously wasn't going to budge on his decision, and he was too exhausted do try and argue with him without Temari here. "Where will she stay?" Questioned Gaara, hoping his brother hadn't thought this on through all the way. "Well the apartment buildings probably wouldn't be too pleased with us sending them a dangerous foreigner so I had something different in mind." His grin widened slightly. "My house has an extra guest room and could…" "No." Kankurō looked over at Gaara, who had cut him off and scowled. "Well it's either that or she stay at the Kazakage house, I mean you practically live here. She can't stay at Temari's. What would she think when she came home and found Ino living in her house?" Gaara gritted his teeth, man was Kankurō stubborn. "Very well, she can stay in my house until she leaves." A grin lit up Kankurō's face, he had actually agreed! He stood up and walked over to where Ino was sitting. "I'll show you where you will be staying," he said with a slight smile. Gaara got up from his desk and walked over to them. Kankurō was about to protest but shut his mouth, not wanting to push his luck. Instead he held open the door for the two and stalked behind them as they made their way through the almost empty building towards the Kazakage's home.<p>

It was not much of a walk considering Gaara's office was relatively close to the home. The whole time Ino had kept a straight face, so Kankurō couldn't get a read on her emotions about the arrangement. They practically made all the decisions for her. There were no guards needed by the house, so the night air was the only thing that made any nose as it swished through the streets. Gaara pulled out a small key and opened the door. Unfortunately the inside of the house was just as chilly as the night outside. Layers of dust on the standard furnishings indicated lack of use and the cobwebs in the corners showed that this house hadn't been lived in recently. Kankurō sighed, did his brother ever get any rest. "So this will be your new home for now. The guest room is through that hall on the right if I'm not mistaken." He glanced over at Gaara, who gave a small nod of his head. "So make yourself at home I guess…" Kankurō looked over at Ino who was staring with unblinking eyes at the home. Her lips parted a little and she closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them again. Kankurō shifted on his feet "So I guess I'll be going then. See you guys tomorrow." He turned around and left with a small wave. That house gave him the creeps, especially at night.

Ino remained standing in the same place next to Gaara, taking in her surroundings. The expression on her face was confusion, as if she was struggling to remember something long forgotten. Finally she blinked and began walking in the direction Kankurō has told her to go earlier. When she opened the door to her room, she was greeted with a sight much like the one earlier. The room was nothing more than a very dusty bookshelf and futon on the floor. A single spider web covered window allowed the moonshine to spill into the tiny space. Illuminating the other cobwebs that adorned the corners and ceiling of the room.

Gaara, not knowing what to do, decided to follow her. He found her staring with the same previous expression of confusion. He motioned to the dusty futon on the floor. "You can sleep there." Ino nodded her head and approached the futon. She swiped her hand over its surface and sat down on it. Upon seeing that she was situated, Gaara left. On his way back to Kazakage tower he wondered how he let Kankurō get away with this. However his mind suddenly flashed to the probably increasing mound of paperwork that had been neglected. He let his mind focus on that instead of the young woman sleeping in his house. Meanwhile Ino stared up at the moon outside the window and wondered what just happened.

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><p><strong>Yes! i am hopeing you like the story so far. I have been trying to improve my writing, so have mercy if there are any weird sentenses. Anyway I hope you keep reading, please reveiw!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

Ino awoke gasping for air. Her sweaty palms pushed her bangs away from her face. She stared down at her bed on the floor, another nightmare. Nightmares were nothing special or even new. She had been having the nightmares for as long as she could remember. Most of them she couldn't remember when she woke up, but they kept her from going back to sleep. The moon was still bright in the sky; this one had let her get a little sleep at least. Ino tensed as a tickling sensation began crawling up her exposed arm. A black spider was making its way towards her neck. Using her hand, she flicked it across the room where it smashed against the wall and fell down dead. Ino was used to bugs as well; she didn't mind them as much.

Ino stood and took another look around the room. She began to replay yesterday's events in her head. She had met a man, no, two men. One was the Kazakage, a leader of some sort, and the other she wasn't so sure about. The Kazakage's name was Gaara, she thought she recognized the name, but couldn't match it. They, no, Kankurō had asked her to become an…assistant for Gaara until they killed all the demons. Ino sighed; she had escaped from the demon's land…so now what. She found a place a place to live and a job. Ino sat down again and looked around once more. Was this where she was trying to go? For years the only thing that she ever concentrated on was escape and survival.

Ino stood up again and brushed the dust off of her cloths. While she was here, she might as well get a feel for the village, and her new home. A small kitchen that contained only basic cooking appliances was in similar condition as the rest of the house. She stepped into the space and began to poke around. Wind sent sand drumming against the windows adding to the eeriness of the house. Suddenly Ino realized that she was thirsty. She had made it through the desert surviving on nothing but demon blood mixed with small amounts of water, and she had nothing to drink yesterday. Ino eyed the sink; she knew it was a water source. However when she turned the handle, no water came out. Ino knocked the spout a few times and globs of rust fell out. A small trickle of yellowed water began to leak through. She knocked it again, harder, and the rest of the rust fell out. Water slowly fell out of the spout in a small stream. Ino cupped her hands and filled them with the water. She drank greedily from her palms and splashed some water on her face.

Her thirst quenched, she headed outside. The streets were empty and all the lights were off. The Kazakage's house was surrounded by a wall a few meters from the home. Ino easily hopped over the wall and landed on one of the smooth rooftops. She looked over her shoulder to the tower where they had first brought her, a light in the top window shone brightly in the night. Ino began traveling the rooftops looking at everything with interest. After a while of exploring she noted that absolutely no one was out or awake, perhaps there was a curfew. Not good for a person who can only sleep when their dreams let them. So she headed back to her home. Ino landed on the wall surrounding the house and looked back up to the lit window in the Kazakage's tower. Finally she decided to go ahead and check it out.

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><p>Gaara sighed as he worked on the piles of paper work. Just one day off had accumulated a massive pile of work that needed to be done. He went to set down the document had had finished in the pile next to his desk, when he noticed the face in the window. Gaara focused in on the features and found it was Ino. He stood up and walked over to the window. Why was she here? He opened the window and looked down at her with a questioning expression. She looked back at him. "I couldn't sleep." Gaara nodded to himself, he knew the feeling well. He turned around to his desk covered in paper work. He remembered that Ino was to be his assistant, and since she had nothing to do, she could maybe help him. Gaara turned back to Ino, who was still outside the window. "Help me with these papers." Ino glanced over to the piles, and gracefully hopped through the window landing on her bandaged feet. Gaara handed her a book and two scrolls. "Copy the name of the people on this scroll onto that one, and look up their number in this book. Then copy the number onto this scroll." Ino nodded, remembering that she was to be his assistant. Spreading the materials out on the bench, she began to work.<p>

After sometime, Ino had shifted position to laying flat on her stomach with her feet dangling off the other side of the bench. The job that she had been assigned was long and tedious. She could see why Gaara wanted her to do it. Ino looked back to the red head behind the desk. It had been a long, long time since she had seen any other people, did they all work this much? He certainly worked efficiently. The piles of paperwork were beginning to deplete from his desk. Ino cocked her head, he was very quiet when he worked, and very focused, like anything could happen around him, and he wouldn't notice. Truth is Ino was curious; it had been years since she had any human interaction. Also she couldn't quite remember what people she had been acquainted with. She could only remember the demons and their kingdom.

Ino continued to write all the names and copy the numbers. There were over a hundred names on the scroll, and she still wasn't finished. A small clock on the wall read that it was four in the morning. She had only been working for three hours. Ino's hand cramped, but she continued writing. Finally she finished, just as the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon. Ino handed in her work to the Kazakage who looked it over before placing it in the complete pile. Just then a loud rumble could be heard. Ino placed her hand over her stomach, she was hungry. She looked over at the clock on the wall, five in the morning. "Kankurō is late; he should have brought breakfast by now." Gaara scowled. Ino wanted to be useful to him so she offered to fetch breakfast instead, Gaara agreed.

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><p>So Ino wandered into the supermarket with the small amount of money Gaara had given her to buy the food with. She looked around, vendors were setting up their stands and others were starting their day. The people of Suna sure rose early. As she walked through the street, she was greeted with odd glances and stares. She stared at everything else equally as fascinated. Ino came to a produce stand that carried a variety of brightly colored food. It all looked so delicious, compared to what she had been eating the past few years. "Can I help you?" Ino looked up from the bright red plant she had been studying. The cart vendor was an older man wearing a white apron. "Everything in this row in 50 yen, and everything in this row is 100 yen." Ino nodded and selected two red, three yellow and two green vegetables. Ino paid for the produce and traveled to the next stall. The old woman working the cart looked up at her with suspicious eyes. "What should I buy for a…breakfast?" Ino asked the old woman. "My cart sells eggs and potatoes, all good breakfast items." Ino nodded again. She purchased three eggs and four potatoes. Ino's bag was now full of food; her stomach growled just looking at it all. Satisfied with her bounty, Ino headed back to Kazakage tower to deliver the breakfast.<p>

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><p>Gaara stared at the food that was placed on his desk. He looked up at Ino. "Breakfast." She stated motioning to the food with a proud expression on her face. Gaara looked at it again. On his desk was an assortment of hot peppers, three raw eggs and four raw potatoes. Not knowing what to say he simply replied "Thank you…you can have whatever you want." Ino wasted no time in snatching up two raw eggs, a potato and three peppers. Sitting down on the bench, she proceeded to eat. Ino gulped down her food as if someone was going to steal it from her. She swallowed the eggs whole, each one with a single gulp, like a snake. Flipping a small knife from the side of her belt, she sliced the potato into five even section in one fluid motion. She proceeded to down the slices even faster than the eggs. Next came the hot peppers. Gaara was curious to see how she would react to their spiciness. Ino tossed them in her mouth, and in one swallow, they were gone. The spice of the peppers had no effect on her. She took a swig of something from a pouch on the side of her belt and dabbed the corners of her mouth with the back of her bandaged hand. She appeared satisfied with her meal and Gaara looked down at his own. She was so proud of such an unfit breakfast, he almost chuckled.<p>

Just then Kankurō came bursting into the office, carrying a small box. "Hey, I'm sorry I'm late. The vendor selling premade boxed meals wasn't open so…" He stopped when he saw the odd assortment of food items on Gaara's desk. "What's this?" He asked picking up a raw egg. "Breakfast," replied Ino from where she was sitting. He looked over at her with a weird expression. Sighing, he sat the egg down on the table along with his boxed _real _breakfast. "So you can't cook?" Ino gave him a look that clearly read _cook, why? _Kankurō smirked and shook his head. "I hope your assistant job goes well today. I will be checking in later." He promptly exited the room, obviously escaping before bursting out into laughter.

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><p><strong>Things will get more interesting, I promise! I hope you enjoyed reading it, so please reveiw!<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

The day was long. Ino had taken on numerous other paperwork jobs for Gaara and her hand was killing her. Other than the breakfast incident and assignments, the two didn't share much more interaction. By six, Ino was fidgety. Offices and paper work were not something that she was used to. That's why Ino was grateful when the desert hawk landed by the window.

When the brown bird perched outside, Ino sprang up from her seat and rushed to the window. Gaara's head jerked up from the document he had been working on at her sudden movements. Gaara watched her throw open the window and grab a desert hawk by its head. The bird was by no means defenseless, it being the size of a small child, but when Ino grabbed its scull the poor thing looked helpless. Ino placed her forehead against the bird's and stared into its golden eyes. She remained in this position for some time before Gaara noticed thin chakra streams beginning to encircle both of their eyes. The hawk's eyeballs began to turn a shade of dark purple. When its eyes were entirely colored Ino released it from her grip. The two stared at each other for a bit more before the hawk finally took to the skies, soaring over the rooftops.

Ino turned around to find Gaara staring at her. The questioning look on his face told her that he had no idea what she just did. "The bird will…be our…watcher. It can now watch from the skies and search for demons. If it finds on, it will let me know." Gaara nodded and returned to his work. For Ino this had been a very useful technique. If she ever decided to sleep, and animal would serve guard, if she could find and catch on that is.

Ino finished her latest paperwork assignment just as the sun was hovering above the horizon. They had worked all day and were almost done with all of the paperwork. She handed in the assignment to Gaara, who took it and placed it in his now very full done pile. He picked up another scroll and was about to hand it to Ino. However instead of accepting the scroll, she turned around and leapt out of the window. She had decided that she was done for the day. Gaara was still holding the scroll out in front of him when she had closed the window behind her.

Ino wasn't really all that tired. She just had to get out of the office. The small lunch that Kankurō had brought wasn't enough, and she was still hungry. Ino made her way back to the market only to find everyone was closed up and had gone home. Ino was not discouraged by this fact at all. Instead she made her way to the rooftops and began scouting. When she came to a dark corner she found what she was looking for. A large rat sat in the corner alone. Suna didn't have many rodents, but if one did manage to survive they usually grew very big. Ino eyed her prey carefully before launching at it with only two fingers extended. A clean slice cut off the rodent's head. Ino picked it up by the tail and brought it back home. A fresh rodent meal was perfectly satisfactory to Ino, and she would enjoy it after she remembered how to work a stove.

The next few days were relatively uneventful. Ino and Gaara continued to work in the small cramped office every day. He only left when summoned for something or had an urgent matter to discuss with something. Kankurō had showed Ino the vendor that sold premade meals to go. She now would pick up and deliver proper courses. Although she would sometimes pick up obscure ingredients that she found interesting along the way. Gaara had become accustomed to her presence and assistance while Ino had become more and more restless. She had begun sleeping in different parts of the house. One night she would sleep on the couch and the next in the bathroom. She even curled up on top of the empty kitchen cabinets. Ino didn't know why she did this. Perhaps it was because she was so on edge, she needed change. However no matter where she slept, the nightmares would return night after night waking her up in violent fits.

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><p>It had been a particularly long day for Ino. There had been more paperwork than usual. Together they had practically extinguished the piles of work on Gaara's desk but every morning there seemed to be more. Ino received all the mindless documents that only required copying information, yet her brain felt fried. It was late and she had completed a particularly dull document of food prices. Her eyes and hands ached, so she stretched and rubbed her eyes. When she looked up she almost fell off the bench. There in front of her was one of the strangest things that she had seen since arriving at Suna.<p>

The Kazakage himself was passed out on his desk asleep. Ino blinked and sat there for a moment before she cautiously crept over to where he lay sleeping. One of his arms lay extended on his desk while the other cradled his slumbering head. His hands and face would twitch and his features were scrunched up like he smelled something horrible. His breath came out in short puffs that blew some of the paper around his face to the ground. Ino stepped lightly over the fallen paper to get a closer look. The shadowed eyes looked less intimidating when they were closed. Ino extended her hand out, but quickly drew it away, what was she doing? She slowly reached out again and touched his soft red hair. The fiery strands made their way in-between her fingers as she continued to stroke his head. She let her fingers casually travel down his head to his forehead scar. It was surprisingly smooth. Gaara's breathing had leveled off into deep breaths and his lips had parted slightly to let escaping air out. His expression softened to an almost peaceful state. His hands ceased twitching and lay calm against the desk. Ino straightened up. She stared at her hand, the one she used to stroke Gaara's hair. What was wrong with her? Shaking her head Ino silently opened the window and prepared to leave. A cool draft made its way into the office. Ino looked back at the sleeping Gaara. Ino wasn't quite sure what she was feeling, but she played along anyway. Pulling a grey blanket from one of her pouches, she tiptoed back over to Gaara. She gently placed the fabric over his back and smoothed out the folds. The blanket hung loosely over his sides, and fluttered when the wind made its way into the office. This particular blanket was Ino's favorite. It would keep her warm at night, no matter what the weather conditions. It took her forever to make though.

Ino turned around once more to face the sleeping figure before gracefully leaping out of the window, forgetting to close it behind her.

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><p><strong> I love this couple. I hope to shed more light on Ino's past in later chapters. For now i hope you want to keep reading. Please reveiw!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Gaara awoke when a cool blast of night air came through the window, sending a stack of paper everywhere. He lifted up his head and stretched his arms. Apparently he had fallen asleep. When another breeze made its way into the office Gaara noticed the blanket that was draped over his body. The fabric was made of several woven plant like stems. However they were so tightly bound together that they acted like fabric. A closer examination revealed that the woven fabric was different shades of grey in different sections, signs that the blanket had taken some time to complete. It was surprisingly warm, but not very soft. It smelled of damp earth, rain, salt, and mud. Still, the entire blanket was filled with the scent of Ino. Gaara rubbed the material between his thumb and index finger. He wondered why she had given it to him, his current garments kept him plenty warm. Another gust of wind brought his attention back to his office.

Folding the blanket and setting it on his chair, he walked over to the source of the wind. The open window looked over much of Suna; it also provided a decent view of his house. From where it was angled, he could see over the wall and into several windows. A faint silhouette of a figure paced back and forth in the living room window. Not a single light was on in the house, yet he could see her shadow move across the room with unexpected clarity.

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><p>Ino had gone home after she had left the Kazakage's office and tried to get some sleep on the living room table. An hour later she had jolted awake from another nightmare. This one was different though, she had remembered it. Ino had remembered her nightmares before, but this one was unlike the others. So no she paced in the living room trying to make sense of it, or forget it.<p>

Ino was trapped under something. She couldn't see what it was, but it was digging into her flesh. It hurt, and she was scared of whatever was crushing her. Ino struggled to release herself but the more she squirmed the harder she was squished. A cruel cackle echoed in her ears, but changed into a desperate panting. The noise sent chills down her spine. Ino bucked her body backwards and was released from whatever was crushing her. Ino looked down to find herself sinking into a pool of yellow slime. She attempted to stand up but was sucked down into the pit of slime again. The noise around her began to intensify into a chorus of shrikes, gasps, and cries of anguish. The sound ripped at her ears and tore at her brain until she could not bear it any longer. The tornado of sound drove her deeper and deeper into the pit of slime until just her head remained above the surface. Finally the noise ceased, but just for a moment. Out of the cloudy darkness came a massive hand covered in blood. It slammed into her exposed head crushing her skull before she had time to scream.

Ino's paces quickened as she crossed the room again. She needed to move, do something, KILL something. This night mare…it made her mind ache. The terrible howls that she had heard tugged at her heart in such a painful way. They were purely human, that's what scared her most. The dream seemed to come from the shadowy recesses of her mind and evoke emotions that took a toll on the body was well as the mind. She needed to block everything out, shut it all out. She craved the stony form her heart had taken, the emotionless state. Ino wanted to escape the confusing and painful emotions that the dream had evoked. The dark place her mind had been, that shadowed place filled with only the demons. Ino gripped the sides of her head. She clenched her jaw and tries her best to block out everything. Just be alone…alone…she was so alone.

A sharp cry split the silence surrounding the house. Ino's head snapped up. The desert hawk with the dark purple eyes sat on the wall surrounding the house. It opened its beak and let out another cry. Ino clenched her fist, digging her sharp fingernails into her skin._ Concentrate_, she told herself. A demon has been sighted, a big one too. Ino exhaled loudly, she was truly grateful for this distraction. She dashed out of her house and next to the hawk. She looked into its eyes and nodded. The hawk took off, and she was about to follow when she noticed the light shining from the window above. A figure of a man blocked some of the soft golden glow, Gaara. It was her duty now to report on the demons. Maybe she should inform him.

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><p>Gaara watched Ino and the hawk, he deducted that it was the same one from before. After the bird took off, she turned around and headed towards his office. Ino's head appeared in front of him. Her face gave away now emotion whatsoever, but he could tell somehow that there was trouble. "Demon," was all she said before taking off again in pursuit of the hawk. Gaara didn't hesitate in following her, though making sure to close the window this time.<p>

The two sped through the sleeping village. The moonshine seemed to seep into the buildings themselves, making everything seem darker than it really was. The hawk led them over the gate and across the desert. It stopped to rest on a large boulder. Ino's senses were on the alert, and tingling. There was defiantly a demon nearby. She unhooked the handle of her whip from its place on her belt. Ino took a breath and closed her eyed. Extending her middle and index finger, she focused on the land around her. The wind was normal and void of strange currents, not a sky demon. The surface of the sand was settled and undisturbed, not a land demon. That only left one place for the demon to be. Ino searched the sand under the surface for any unusual activity. Sure enough there were uneven shifts in the sand, it was a tunneling demon. Ino gritted her teeth; this was not going to be fun for her.

As if on cue, a massive worm came shooting out of a sand dune. It was thick and grotesque looking with several openings along the sides of its body. Two mouths, each encircled with yellowed teeth, gnashed on the sides of its bulbous head. Parts of its body bulged in different places, making it lumpy and even more unattractive. Its yellowish sandpaper like skin was coated with fine hairs that seemed to move on their own. It swayed in the air before it came crashing down onto the boulder that the hawk had previously been sitting on. The giant rock exploded into several different chunks that went flying in several different directions. As the worm continued its path down into the ground, it sent up a tidal wave of sand at Ino and Gaara.

Ino avoided the attack by leaping up onto one of the pieces of boulder that was flying through the air. She landed on the sand wave and maneuvered the rock around to keep from sinking into the loose sand. Ino let out her metal whip and enhanced it with her chakra.

Gaara simply blocked the sand wave with his own sand.

Ino's head pivoted to her right as the worm rose out of the ground for another attack. She hated burrowers; they took their own sweet time, since she couldn't go underground to fight them. Ino extended he whip at the demon managing to send a solid slice into its middle. It let out a sharp hiss and dove at Ino, she dodged. Its dive sent out another sand wave and Ino managed to leap onto another rock piece and "surf" the sand tidal wave.

Gaara rose on his cloud of sand and waited for the next attack. He wondered why Ino didn't simple slice through the sand whit her whip instead of waiting for it to show itself. The demon launched yet another attack, only to have another vertical strike down its middle. Gaara observed Ino's movements carefully, since she knew more about these things than she did. The giant worm surfaced again and was cut in the same way, Ino had a plan. However Gaara was not going to simply wait around while she did all the work.

The worm came bursting out of the sand again with a loud hiss. Gaara sent his sand lashing out and wrapped it around the creature, preventing it from moving any further.

Ino saw this as her opportunity to end this quickly. She brought her whip down the worm's middle, splitting it in half. She then proceeded to split each of the halves into fourths. Now it couldn't shoot its damn offspring out of the holes in the side of its body, or if she had split it in half, become two worms. She had to learn all about these demons the hard way.

The carcass of the worm lay in the sand oozing out a steady stream of blood. Ino walked down where its head had split in half and its two mouths lay separate from each other. She reached her hand into the center of it head and pulled out a light colored chink of metal. Once it was attached to her whip, she turned to face Gaara.

In the rush of battle, she had forgotten about him. She was too busy killing off the massive worm slowly, like a form of stress relief. He had simply lifted the squirming beast into the air and allowed her to quickly slice and dice it into several pieces. Just like that, perfect teamwork, even when they did not share a single word.

Ino was exhausted. She was running on a few hours of sleep and the paperwork drained her more than hunting demons. They had gone back to Gaara's office in silence together. However, it was not an awkward silence. They had worked together to kill the demon, and that had created an unconscious bond between the two. In other words, they trusted each other.

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><p><strong>Ah, sorry i was late posting this chapter. I hope that you liked it. Please reveiw!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

Ino abruptly rose from where she had been seated. It had been another long day, it was late, and she was tired. She never did ask permission to leave, she just did. So she handed in her files and zipped out of the office, welcoming the cool night air.

Ino loved the night. The night time was cool and dark, but you could still see clearly. The stars always shone at night. Ino loved the stars. The moon and stars were much kinder than the sun that brought harsh burns to her skin and left her thirsty with nothing to drink, as if it were punishing her for some unknown crime. The moon would give light, and nothing else.

Some nights Ino would sit under a full moon and bask in its radiance. She would look up at the sky and find patterns in the stars, the stars were her friends. They were always there, even when she could not see them. They would guide her, they brought her here.

However tonight was not the night for star gazing, Ino was sleepy. The lonely house seemed almost welcoming. She decided to sleep in the guest bedroom tonight, but only under the window. This way the stars would shine down on her while she slept, she loved sleeping under the stars. So Ino curled up under the webbed window and quickly nodded off into a fitful sleep.

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><p>Gaara closed the folder and snapped it shut. Ino had left earlier than usual, was something wrong. He shook his head, no, she was probably just tired. After all they did just go kill a demon then come back and get to work like nothing had happened. He looked over to the window. Maybe he should go and check on how she was doing in his house. He needed to make sure that it was ok. Oh, and he should return her blanket.<p>

Gaara turned the handle of his front door to find that it was already open. He silently swung it open and stepped inside. To his mild surprise the house didn't look much different than it had the last time he had been in here. It was still dusty and eerie, like it hadn't been lived in. Weird, didn't women like to clean? Then again, Ino certainly wasn't an ordinary woman.

He made his way down the hallway to the guest bedroom. The door wasn't even closed. Moonlight spilled through the window illuminating everything in the room. A small figure was curled up underneath the window. The moonshine bathed Ino in a soft light that made her pale skin glow and her long blond hair to appear almost white. If it were not for her normal harsh attire, she would appear to be a sleeping angel.

Gaara approached the sleeping angel. Her head was tucked down and her arms covered her chest in a defensive position. Her lips curled over her teeth to reveal two oddly pointed canines. They glinted in the silvery light, giving her an almost inhuman look. Half of her face was still concealed with her bangs and the other half was scrunched up. Her eyebrow twitched and she seemed to growl at something. Long slender legs were displayed nicely thanks to the slit skirt and they jerked occasionally further revealing themselves. Her hair that had grown well past her knees now lay all over the place, surrounding her like a spider's web.

Gaara mindlessly bend down to the grimacing face. He stretched his hand out and ran his fingers through the purple streak in her hair. It was surprisingly smooth. The soft strands of hair ran over his palm like a river. His flingers traveled down the streak till they came to her stomach. The scar looped halfway around her naval and continued to her back where it curved up into another half loop. He brushed the back of his hand over its shape.

The skin puckered slightly around the scar, so it almost looked like it wasn't a part of her. Gaara found himself wondering how she came to obtain this mark as he passed over its curved shape again, this time with his finger tips. Did it hurt? Gaara wondered why he even cared about her. He looked over to her face again.

Ino's features had relaxed and her lips were closed over her pointed teeth. Her arms hung loosely on the ground with her palms facing upward. For the first time since he had met her, Ino looked at peace.

Gaara gently tucked her bangs behind her ear to reveal her entire face. She was beautiful, no doubt about it. For some reason she seemed twice as beautiful with her whole face exposed. She appeared a bit more open, and vulnerable. This was the type of face that would pull at any man's heart with just a glance. Gaara let the hair fall back, covering her features once more, and stood.

What exactly was he feeling towards the sleeping girl in front of him? He closed his eyes for a second, trying to think clearly, but he couldn't put his emotions into words. Making it even more confusing for him.

Ino shivered a little, and that's when Gaara remembered the blanket that he had to return. He took out the grey folded rectangle and placed it on the ground next to her. He made it to the doorway before turning around. Ino shivered again. The blanket sat next to her. Something wasn't right with this picture.

Gaara approached her for a second time and picked up the fold up blanket. He un-wrapped it and draped it over Ino's body. Only her head and hands poked out of the top. She almost looked childlike, sleeping like that.

Gaara smiled. She was a good assistant, and even if they did not talk much, he liked spending the day together. It sure made life a lot less lonely for him.

Finally he walked out of the guest room, leaving the sleeping Ino behind.

Gaara inspected the rest of the house. Everything was in order. However there was one room where something had obviously changed, the bathroom.

The bathroom was by no means spacious, but it did have all the standard amenities, one of them a mirror. The mirror, he found, was covered in a layer of what appeared to be black paint. The paint had been painted in a rush, so parts of the mirror were still visible around the edges. Gaara resisted the urge to use his sand to scrub away the layer of paint. Maybe he would ask Ino about it in the morning.

Gaara looked at the mirror for a minute or two. Why would Ino do this? Did she not want to look at herself? Gaara found it odd, her womanly appearance made it seem like she was the type to spend hours in the mirror. He walked away; again, the mirror was none of his business.

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><p>Ino had been having a nightmare. She had been running, but her legs felt like they were about to breakdown. However, when she tried to stop her legs only went faster. She couldn't look down, but it felt like she was running on bones of some sort. She kept on running. The sky was green, a bright blinding green.<p>

The bones around her began to rattle and assemble themselves. Creatures took shape, and began to come at her from all directions. Ino wanted to turn, but her legs would not let her. The skeletons around her approached and were about to strike. She prepared to fight. Monsters leapt in the air and sprinted at her, but suddenly they stopped. Everything stopped, even her legs.

All of a sudden her nightmare became silent, and the sky began to fade. The skeletons began to dissolve, along with the fear. Everything dissolved into a cool blackness. Ino looked up. The sky began to fill with tiny pinpricks of light, stars. She sank down and lay sprawled out. The stars began to twinkle and shimmer. They almost seemed to stroke her with their light. Ino looked up at the stars, and felt…relaxed? She exhaled, yes she was relaxed, and it felt nice. The stars continued to shimmer, and Ino decided that she liked this dream. The stars blanketed her with warmth. Ino never wanted to wake up from this dream. She would lie here forever and never wake up.

Ino relaxed even more, and eventually the darkness of sleep enveloped her.

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><p><strong>Yes! The staroy is finally begining to pick up. I am trying to make the chapters longer...but...ya...possibly chapter 9? Anyway thanks for reading and please reveiw, i love it when you do!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

Ino awoke to something that she had not expected, sunshine. A few thin rays of morning sun peeked through the window and illuminate the dusty room. Ino rubbed her eyes and stretched. She continued sitting there and staring out the window while she tried to remember last night.

She had been having a nightmare. She remembered that. Then the nightmare disappeared, it had dissolved. The dream began to come back to her. It had dissolved into a night sky. Yes, Ino had been among the stars. It was a wonderful dream. The first good one that she had since…well…forever. Also, she noted, she had slept through the entire night.

The _entire _night. This experience was so foreign to Ino that she didn't know quite how to react. How, why, when… questions rolled through her head. Finally she gave up. All that she knew was that she had actually had a good night's rest. And as wonderful as it felt, Ino was confused.

Ino clutched the blanket and pulled it over her soldiers. Wait, when had she gotten the blanket back? She held the fabric out in front of her, and inspected it. It was defiantly her blanket.

She had given it to Gaara after she found him passed out on his desk. Ino cautiously sniffed the blanket. Immediately she inhaled the scent of Gaara. A strong, rich aroma now coated the blanket, and it made Ino wonder if it was really hers.

He must have returned it to her sometime during the night, but how? Ino had always been a light sleeper. The slightest of noises would jolt her awake and ready for action. So how had _he _been able to come in and return her blanket? Maybe he hadn't. But how would that explain the sudden return of the blanket.

Any way it didn't madder, she had her blanket back.

A blanket…such a silly thing to become attached to. Ino knew that it was childish of her, but she had come to rely on it during some difficult times. It served its purpose and so much more.

Ino hugged the fabric one last time before folding it back into one of the pouches on her belt.

She looked around the room. Funny how she had already been here so long, yet she had never seen the house in day light. The sun reflected off the light yellow walls and made shapes on the floor. The corners of the room didn't seem so shadowy and dark. The cobwebs and dust were almost homey touches to the house. A safe house.

Ino had decided that she liked it here in Suna. She had a set location of a home, food available to her. Good food too! Not at all like the demons that she had to devour to remain alive. Ino had even made a "friend", Gaara. They didn't talk much, but she liked his company. She enjoyed being in the same room as him. Of course she didn't know if he felt the same way about her. But still, having a purpose was nice. The more that she worked for him, the more she learned about Suna. Ino liked being needed by someone. Even if it were only for errands and troublesome tasks.

* * *

><p>Ino set out it fetch Gaara's breakfast, she was already late. They had never set an exact time of arrival, but Ino had developed a routine time of showing up for work. So she tried to hurry.<p>

However something caught her eye on her way back to the office. Practical Cooking, a small cookbook sat displayed on a book cart next to her. The cover showed delicious looking scrambled eggs and hash browns with shaved peppers as a topping. Ino must have been staring at the book, because the vendor asked if she was going to buy anything. Ino purchased the book without really thinking about it, and stuffed it in a pouch on her belt.

Gaara barley realized that Ino was late until his stomach started growling for food. Just then the blond came leaping through the window with his breakfast. She set it down on his desk and issued a prompt apology for being late.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry. I…overslept." Gaara waved his hand indicating that it was ok, and handed her the day's assignments.<p>

Now that he thought about it, Ino had always been early. The first night she told him that she couldn't sleep. Then he had seen her pacing in the window on the night of the second demon attack.

Come to think of it, he had seen her lights on late into the night. He had even caught glimpses of her sitting on the roof, and appearing to be star gazing.

It was obvious enough that Ino had troubles with sleeping. Even though she possessed no rings under her eyes to show for it.

Gaara was glad that his assistant got a good rest for once, one thing that he desperately needed. She deserved it.

The rest of the day continued normally. Gaara and Ino had almost eradicated the massive pile of papers that had stacked up. At this rate, he might actually get some free time off from work.

* * *

><p>The next day Ino had awoken from another nightmare. So they were back again, not like she expected them to suddenly vanish. But it would still be nice to get a little more sleep.<p>

It was still too early for the market place to be open, and there was not much to do around the house. That's when she remembered the cook book. Ino pulled out the paperback volume and opened to the first recipe that she found. Scrambled eggs and cheese on potatoes. Ino read over the instructions with interest. It would be nice to have a good freshly cooked meal instead of the pre-packaged ones that had become their usual diet. It all seemed simple enough, so she set out to purchase the ingredients.

Ino returned with a bag of produce. The house was stocked with cooking materials, so she didn't need to worry about those. Ino had been "cooking" her own meals for a while; granted most of the stuff that she ate was raw. However for some reason, she felt comfortable in the kitchen. She had even cooked a rat over the stove here!

So Ino began to slice the potatoes with her knife. Once they were peeled and ready, she used the blunt handle of the blade and mashed them into a pulp. The eggs were simple enough. The directions instructed her to crack them over the pan and dispose of the shells. Ino cracked the eggs, but why throw out the shells. They were perfectly edible.

After the eggs were done, she scooped them onto the bed of mashed potatoes. The heat of the freshly cooked eggs melted the cheese and created a mouthwatering aroma. She then packed two separate meal boxes with the food and headed off for work, hoping Gaara will approve of her cooking. She hadn't really cooked for someone else before. It made her happy.

* * *

><p>Ino arrived with breakfast as usual. She set it down on his desk and collected her assignments. Gaara had been leaving them in a small bin next to his desk now. First she had to deliver the checklist to the front guards, and see if there were any updates on the demons. Ino left before she could start eating.<p>

Gaara opened his food container and was surprised to find steam coming out of it. At first he was alarmed, but the heat and aroma told him that this was a home cooked meal. Had Ino actually_ cooked_ something? He used his chopsticks to pick up a bite and sniffed it. It did not smell of anything suspicious. He ate it. Not too bad. He had never really wondered much about how Ino had gotten food in the past. Perhaps she had made it all herself. So why didn't she cook here? The second bite reviled the answer. The eggs had a slight crunch to them, eggshell. Who puts eggshell in the eggs. He remembered the first time he had seen her eat eggs, downed them whole. He sighed. Well she certainly had the spirit of Suna, waste nothing. The potatoes were fine at least. A normal desert hawk perched outside the window. Gaara didn't want to hurt Ino's feelings, so he fed the eggs to the bird.

The eggs might have been wrong, but he had never really had anyone cook for him before. Of course he was the Kazakage, so when he was visiting villages or other countries, he would often find that they had a meal prepared for him. However he had never had someone simply cook him something for a normal occasion. Let alone a woman. The simple gesture was…nice.

Ino arrived back at the office to find that Gaara had eaten all of his breakfast. Had he liked it? She was still unsure why it meant so much to her, but it made her glad that he had liked it. Picking up her own food, Ino began to devour the eggs. Then the potatoes. The meal mad her proud. Strange, something as simple as this. It came so naturally, had she done it before? Ino dismissed the thought. Trying to remember the past made her brain ache. For now, she will focus on the present, with Gaara.

* * *

><p><strong>*Sigh* I know, uneventful chapter. I had a writer's block and needed something to keep the story moving. Update once a week, or atleast try...any way it is your reveiws that kick my lazy ass to keep writing. So please reaveiw! More action to come in the near future. ;)<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

A week passed and Ino had continued to cook their morning meal, and purchase the rest. After the second day Gaara had commented on the egg shell. From then on she strictly followed the instructions. Ino had to admit that she enjoyed the cooking. She also enjoyed making it for Gaara. It made her feel a bit more…appreciated. He always thanked her for the food, and that simple thank you made her proud. Often enough, she would find herself looking forward to the next day, and reading up on what she was going to make next.

This night; however, food was the last thing on Ino's mind. She stood pacing in the hallway. Another bad dream. They were always bad, but this one…it made her shudder just thinking about it. The details were hazy, but she could remember bits and pieces clearly. Sounds, shapes, colors, creatures, figures, shadows, cries, memories, pain, fear, eyes, blood. She remembered lots of blood, and it was not the blood of demons. Her right arm hung limply at her side. She knew it was all in her head, but the dream seemed to physically attack her. She had awoken screaming, and looked down at her arm. It was, thankfully, still attached. She continued to pace and her chest heaved, taking in as much air as she could. She couldn't breathe, she sucked in more air. The walls of the house seemed to close in on her. She had to escape.

Ino rested on the rooftop. A half moon in the sky comforted her and the stars shimmered in their soothing way. Ino began to breathe better. She closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands. A soft wind sent strands of her hair waving behind her before falling back, only to be pushed away by another breeze again. She opened her eyes. The city was so peaceful at night. The mixture of moonlight and dark buildings made a spectacular sight, almost like you stepped into a strange geometric painting.

Ino loved this city and would do her best to try and protect it from_ them_. The demons were advancing. The hawk had reported locations of several minor demons, but they were still too far off to raise any alarm.

A curved silhouette appeared in front of the moon, her hawk. Ino jolted up, ready for the news that it would bring. She extended her arm for the large bird. It landed with a screech. Ino looked into its dark purple eyes. It silently reported everything it knew. Ino's eyes widened.

How had she could have missed him? Why did he get so close? How much time did she have? Him…it….that thing, it had been in her dream. Briefly, but he had been there. This was bad, very, very bad. If he got here…she didn't want to think about it. Ino let out a frustrated cry. She loved this city, and she would not see it reduced to ashes. She had to act quickly, no time for planning or strategizing. She had to report it to Gaara and get out there, now. They were probably already too late. For a demon his size, he sure was fast.

Ino Bolted over rooftops and straight into Gaara's office. No time to warn him, she grabbed his wrist before he could even register that she had entered the room. Ino rocketed back out into the night dragging an alarmed Kazakage with her.

* * *

><p><strong>Yup short chapter, I know. The next one<em> will<em> be much longer, I swear it. It may take a bit longer to publish...but your reveiws keep me going! So reveiw...please. **


	12. Chapter 12

Gaara raced along side of Ino as they ran across the rooftops of the city. One look at her face, and he knew that there was a demon on its way. The way that she had grabbed his wrist told him that it was serious, but he didn't know _how_ serious. Guess he would find out soon.

They continued accelerating right through the gates and across the desert. The moon cast shadows on the surrounding dunes and outlined everything in silver. This is why some people call this time of night, the silver hour. Over the years he had become familiar with the desert landscape, especially at night. The silver hour was one of the few things he could find beauty in, in his past. However as he scanned the memorable landscape he came across something that definitely was not part of the desert.

There in the distance, outlined by the moon, stood a shape. Even if it was farther off, it still appeared to be very large. They continued to speed towards the looming figure, yet the shadow of the moon prevented any details from being seen. The closer they came though, the more the outline began to stand out. It almost appeared blue instead of silver, and it looked as if it was flickering like a fire would.

As they continued their ever accelerating run, Gaara noticed that the sand itself had changed. It was coarser and sharper. He made sure not to run in front of Ino, the sand could cut her skin. Another thing about the landscape was that it was steadily sinking down towards the creature that lay in wait for them. He couldn't stop, the inverted cone of sand was like a whirlpool, it sucked them down in the direction of the demon.

Ino seemed oblivious to any changes in the landscape. He could tell that every ounce of her being was entirely focused on the demon ahead. Her face was stone like, but he could still pick up on some things. She had unsettled business with this creature. He looked back at the silhouette. It seemed to grow, stretching itself upward. It sensed that they were coming. The shadow of the creature glowed with anticipation. This demon had a settling of scores with Ino as well.

* * *

><p>Ino came to an abrupt halt, sending a small plume of sand out in front of her. Gaara stopped beside her. The looming shape was only a few meters away, and it was no longer a thing of mystery. The demon was massive, easily the size of several buildings. If the sheer size of it wasn't frightening enough, then its features should make you piss your pants.<p>

The demon gave a deep chuckle that seemed to make the very sand that they stood on quiver. Ino tensed and her knees bent slightly at the sound of its voice. "I am Hyacintho Daemonium." Ino's eyes seemed to drill holes of hatred through the monster. "I know that, why are you here?" Ino spat at the beast. It gave another rumbling chuckle. "Oh Ino, you yourself should know." He began to slowly circle the two, eyeing Ino the whole time.

* * *

><p>Gaara stared at the demon. It was a gargantuan dragon. Its skin was plated with what appeared to be sapphire armor, but it was bumpy and bubbled up in different placed. In the spaces where the armor split, bright blue flames shot out casting their strangely colored light across the desert sand. The flames licked the ground and seemed to melt the sand on contact. Its long tail was adored with fearsome looking spikes surrounded by more blue fire. Its long neck was decorated with the spikes as well. A pair of substantial horns protruded from its head and curled around on themselves. Its face was plated in a smoother armor that jutted out in sharp angles and reflected the light of its fire. Two eyes were set deeper into its armored head and flames dripped from their edges. They were a shade of indigo that almost seemed as alive as the inferno that erupted from its body. In the center of them were narrow slits that seemed to suck in any light source. They eyes of a cold blooded killer. Its long moth was filled to the brim with what appeared to be black razors for teeth and white flame dribbled from its jaw. A jet black, glosy forked tong flicked in and out of its mouth in anticipation. The fire that surrounded him gave off a deadly sounding hiss that sent shudders up Gaara's spine. Hyacintho was not to be underestimated.<p>

* * *

><p>Hyacintho continued his slow circling of the pair. "I see you managed to get your arm back." He looked at it as if it were the most repulsive thing in the world. "Of course an arm is such a simple thing to return." Ino's hand touched the demon eye that hung around her neck. She looked back at him. "Go on, take off you bandages. Let me see what a good job you have done at returning+ what has been lost." Hyacintho hissed each word and sent them out of his mouth like tongs of fire. Ino ripped off her bandages. She cocked her head and returned her hand to her neck.<p>

Gaara blinked. In the light of the fire he could see every last detail that she had been hiding. Her entire arm was slashed in different places. Bearing painful looking burn marks and two scars that ran the length of her arm. However the wounds were not the most shocking part of her arm. It was the color. It was a shade of grey that resembled the color of a drowned corpse. It was attached to her shoulder by what appeared to be stitching. It was so inhuman and strange that Gaara could not stop staring at it.

This time Hyacintho gave out a full bellied laugh. The sand around them shook and several of the dunes crumbled. "Excellent, you truly are skilled at the art of survival. I am so happy to see that you have your arm back." His word sounded more and more menacing every time he opened his mouth. "It will be a pleasure ripping it off again." And with that, he sent a white hot fire ball at them.

Gaara raised a wall of sand to block the flame, but Ino proceeded to grab him by the wrist again and leap out of the way. The fire ball went straight through the wall of sand leaving a red-hot ring behind. It only appeared to slow a little before it extinguished itself into the night air.

"Poisoned flame." Ino said in a flat tone. "Whatever you do, don't let it get you. It _will_ cut through _anything_." She took off.

Gaara noted this poisoned flame, it would be a major obstacle.

Ino had begun to circle Hyacintho at an amazing speed. Her whip alight with chakra, trailed behind her. Without warning she brought the whip around her head and struck the demon's foot. It only left a shallow gash in the armor. Still, Hyacintho reared back onto its hind leg to his full height. His body blocked out the moon and cast shadows that seemed to stretch on forever.

"Ino, I will kill you this time." He puffed up his plated chest. "JUST LIKE YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER!" Hyacintho let out a deafening roar that could not be compared to any sound that Gaara had ever heard before. It was filled with anger and full of strength. It was so fearsome that the stars in the sky seemed to blink in surprise.

Hyacintho released a tornado of fire from his mouth. Gaara shielded his eyes from its blinding light. It swirled through the desert incinerating everything that it touched. The sand itself burst into orange flame, and what didn't burn became glass.

The battle had begun.

* * *

><p>Ino landed behind the demon and lashed her whip through one of the spikes on its tail. The metal of the whip could withstand the heat of the flames, and cut the sharp top of the barb. Hyacintho flicked its tail and sent the flaming spike at Ino. Gaara launched a column of stand and knocked the projectile off its path and back towards Hyacintho. He had judged that the demon's armor would be difficult to penetrate with any of their weapons, but maybe the demon's own attacks could be used against it.<p>

The barb hit the demon on its back leaving a nicely sized crack in the armor. Hyacintho growled and whipped its tail in different directions. The spikes began to rapid fire in every direction. There were too many to block, and were too wide spread to flee. Ino twisted her body to try and avoid the assault of flaming projectiles. Her movements almost seemed like an exotic dance of sorts.

Gaara raised a dense wall of sand in front of Ino. He appeared by her side a moment later, and completed the wall of sand to encircle them. Spikes plunged into the wall and their silvery blue tips began to drill through the sand around them. Gaara extended on hand and the wall of sand burst into hands that swung at the flaming barbs and sent them back at Hyacintho. The demon raised one of its wings and sent an air blast that deflected all but one of the spikes. A single barb slammed into the area where its tail was attached to its body. Ino had leapt into the air and slashed her whip through the membrane that made up the dragon's wings. Hyacintho let out another roar and shook its massive head, sending flame splattering in several different directions.

Gaara rose up on a bed of sand to get a better target view from above. Ino narrowly dodged a jut of flame that erupted from Hyacintho's back. The demon returned its front feet to the ground with a force that shook the earth. Ino wobbled slightly but maintained balance. The demon threw its head back and brought it down for another tornado of flame. Ino anticipated the attack and had launched into the air again. When it had finished the flame thrower and set more of the desert alight, Ino took her chance. She threw down her arm and looped the metal ribbon of her whip around the Hyacintho's snout, clamping it shut.

Gaara preformed some hand signals and the sand below the demon began to churn. An inferno flailed wildly out of the body of the demon as the ground below him transformed into a sucking whirlpool of sand.

Ino pulled harder on the whip. Hyacintho's thrashings jerked her arms wildly from side to side. Without its special poisoned fire, Gaara's sand would be much more effective. The sand vortex had barley pulled in Hyacintho at all. The flame from its body melted the sand far too quickly.

Ino decided to take a gamble. She released her left hand from the handle of her whip, and tensed her right arm. The force of Hyacintho made her feel as if he would tear it right out of her, again.

Her left hand reached down to garter on her leg. Her fingers searched for the small demon claw that hung on a string on the inside of her leg. She snapped the claw off the string and held it in-between her fingers. She prayed that it would work. Holding the claw in her hand, she tried to keep the demon steady enough for the transformation to complete. The claw began to grow until it was a foot in length. She held it in the air and hurled it at Hyacintho with amazing force. It hit him square in the chest plate with an explosion of orange fire and energy. It left a large dent and several cracks in the armor.

However the force of the throw caused Ino's grip on her whip to weaken. Ino watched what happened next like it was all in slow motion.

* * *

><p>The smoke from the explosive claw disappeared and Hyacintho's head heaved to the right. The chains of the whip loosened and he ripped his jaw open with a gigantic mushroom of the white fire. The metal ribbon fell to the bubbling ground with pieces of fame trailing after it.<p>

Gaara raised a special protection sand barrier. Ino reached into a pouch in her belt as she began to move towards Gaara. Her feet began to leave the ground as she witnessed something that would haunt her for years to come.

The colossal fire ball hit the barrier, but the inferno was so big that it curled around the edges of the blockade. Gaara began to retreat backwards, but he couldn't move fast enough.

Ino opened her mouth to scream, but the heat of the fire made her skin grow tight. She reached out, eyes open wide.

* * *

><p>The fire came around his barrier fast.<p>

Too fast. He didn't have time to react.

Suddenly the entire world went white, and white hot pain exploded around his arm.

His sand armor had melted.

He was in pain.

The world began spinning.

Everything was white, black, yellow, a blur.

The desert began to twist and turn.

No, he was falling.

Up? Down?

The pain was disorienting.

The sharp desert sand rose up and slammed into his back.

The sky was getting closer, the white sky was…

* * *

><p>Ino moved faster, if it was possible. She witnessed it all happen. The fire was above Gaara now, she landed beside him, and threw it over Gaara and her. Waiting for impact.<p>

* * *

><p>The sky…It was white.<p>

No, the fire was white.

It had been closing in and was about to hit him.

But now the sky was grey.

Why was it grey?

His arm, it hurt like hell.

Gaara began to regain his bearings.

Ino was on top of him. She had thrown something over them both that stopped the fire. His good hand raised up just an inch to feel what was covering them. Fabric, it was fabric of some sort. Neither coarse nor soft. It rolled and bounced like someone was pouring water on the outside. It was warm, very warm, almost hot.

Gaara turned his attention to the woman pressing up against him. Ino's body lay hard-pressed on top of his. Her back supported the tent of fabric that covered them both. She was breathing heavily and her chest heaved against his. She was sweaty and gasping. Her chin hooked over his shoulder, and her arms were extended to hold the edges of the fabric down. Her body was crooked to the side so that she didn't touch his burning arm. However the way that her body curved caused her hips to be pressed against his in a slightly too close for comfort fashion.

Ino's eyes were cloudy, and her entire body was shaking. Her jaw was clenched and her muscles were tense. Her breath came out in puffs that blew against his ear.

Ino closed her eyes and began to shake harder. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Her lips formed the words over and over again until the waves of fire began to slow to a stop.

They lay there like that for a second before Ino sat up.

The blanket had saved both of their lives.

The fire proof fabric was completely charred on one side and lay in a smoking heap on the ground.

Ino gathered the fabric and tied it around Gaara's arm to protect it. Her muscles shook as she helped him to his feet.

The monster was glowing. The forked tong waved around its mouth, and the white flame streamed out of the corners of its jaw. Alight with a plan of malicious intent, his eyes stared down at them.

He threw his head back and laughed. Mixed with the demon's fire, the laugh became visible.

"Ino," his voice was triumphant, like he had just played the winning move. But it was also nasty, and wicked. "You have made the same mistake twice now. Oh and you were doing so well..." the last word came out with a hiss.

Ino's grip tightened around Gaara's wrist, and her eyes were cast downwards, pupils shaking. She was fighting to restrain herself.

"Oh how_ rich_. I shall make you doubly suffer. First I shall kill_ him_."

Gaara noted that this was the first time that the Hyacintho had acknowledged his existence in the battle.

"Then I shall kill _you_." He laughed some more. "Yes, yes, perfect!" His hisses had turned sharp. "His death shall make you suffer. Oh Ino, you know not to get attached to such trivial things. For they will always_ die_."

Ino let go of Gaara's wrist. Her eyes shook violently now as she slowly raised her head to look at the demon. Her lips curled over her oddly pointed teeth. Every muscle in her body tensed. Her hands twitched and twisted, and her fingernails suddenly seemed very dangerous. Ino's body bent and contorted into a stance that Gaara couldn't even recognize.

Ino an instant Ino had changed. Even though she was still _her,_ it was like an entirely new being had surfaced. She was vicious, primal. She had become an inhuman animal version of herself. It was like a demon itself had taken Ino's body and possessed it.

A ruthless growl escaped her throat. Gaara took a step back, she was dangerous.

Suddenly, without warning, Ino shot off towards the demon.

She left her whip in the sand, but she seemed just as strong without it. She slashed and punched, and dodged Hyacintho viciously. Her movements were at such an extreme speed, Gaara could barely see her. The demon and Ino engaged in a violent dance that was both beautiful and deadly.

Finally Gaara couldn't take it any longer. He ignored the pain in his arm and began to twist the sand beneath Hyacintho. Snake like streams of sand weaved their way up his body melting into liquid glass that stuck to its armor. Ino would punch through the glass creating more dents and cracks in the armor, all while dodging the fire.

Finally Gaara wrapped a thick rope of sand around the base of the demon's tail and compressed the sand and continued adding more crushing layers after the other melted. He did the same around the demon's chest.

Hyacintho spit numerous fire balls at Gaara, and he had to dodge to escape them. Supporting his burnt right arm, he leapt out of the way. Hyacintho continued to focus his poisoned flame at Gaara while he fired round after round of flaming barbs at Ino.

Ino easily dodged the onslaught of projectiles, and used Hyacintho's momentary focus shift to her advantage.

Gaara's arm was becoming unbearable, he couldn't keep it up much longer. Since his sand was not of much use agilest the demon's white fire, he had no choice but to simply continue dodging the attacks.

Gaara landed on the ground, and liquid fire pain shot up his arm. He gasped and clenched his jaw.

Hyacintho saw him falter and filled his chest with fire power to finish him off.

Ino saw Gaara, he was strong, but that was no excuse. She knew the pain that he was in, and that he couldn't go on much longer.

* * *

><p>She hurtled into the air and a flaming spike whizzed past her head.<p>

A monstrous cry exploded out of her throat as she plummeted down towards the demon. She extended her arm so that it was completely straight out in front of her. Her hand was flat and rigid, and chakra flowed freely.

Hyacintho was bringing his head downwards for the final blow.

Ino's eye were wide with fury as she prepared for contact. Finally her hand came in contact with the dented and cracked armor at the base of the demon's tail.

A sound like shattering glass emerged through the sounds of the hissing blaze. Hyacintho's eyes were suddenly engulfed with white flame. His head was pointed upwards at the sky as he let out the fire he had been holding in. the white flames swallow up his head and traveled up to the sky. His flaming head blended in with the sinking moon in the sky. He didn't let out a single cry, just fire.

Ino's hand had sliced through the armored skin and chopped through the bone and muscle that attached its tail to its body. Dark black demon blood splattered over the flames and turned into darker black smoke. Blood coated Ino's right arm in a skin of black. It splattered onto her cheek and hair.

Ino wrapped her arms around the base of the tail. Its flames had extinguished, but it still had the spikes that grew back. Her arms barley wrapped around it fully and it was quite heavy, but Ino swung it around without a problem.

She bared her teeth and maneuvered the massive tail around her. She spun around Hyacintho with the tail in her arms. Jumping back in front of Gaara, she raised the tail up like a weapon.

Ino heaved her body and hurled the tail like a spear towards Hyacintho.

The demon looked at her and filled its chest with power.

Ino and Gaara both saw what was coming next and pivoted around to hurtle away from the demon.

The tail came tearing towards Hyacintho at an astonishing speed, considering how heavy it was. The pointed tip was aimed right at the dent in its chest plate.

The tail made contact with the armor right on target, and more shattering sounds could be heard. It had pierced the armor, and ripped through the demons insides.  
>The immense energy that the demon had summoned as a last defense exploded out of its chest. The energy burst and bubbled outward in a mad frenzy of raw white energy.<p>

Gaara wrapped his arms around Ino and drew her in. He used the last of his remaining strength to have the sand propel them higher and farther into the air.

The blast erupted and expanded behind them in a blaze so bright that their figures seemed to be swallowed up by the flames themselves.

* * *

><p><strong>YES! I made it in time! I hope this chapter was long enough for you, just want you to know that I'm trying. I hope you like the chaper, and don't wory their relationship will deepen ;) Keep reveiwing so I can modivate myself to write.<strong>

**Untill next time...**


	13. Chapter 13

Fire.

The desert was alight with orange flames. Thick black smoke hung in the air, and mingled with the orange ashes that floated about. Ino and Gaara had crash landed in the sand together with only a couple meters in between them and the blast.

They stayed there, lying down in the sand breathing heavy, for only a moment before Ino staggered to her feet. Gaara struggled to stand up behind her.

She stumbled around the patches of fire and crunched through the shards of unrefined glass. Until she came to the side of the Hyacintho's body. The smoke was pungent, and it made the air almost impossible to breath.

The great blue dragon lay in a bloody mess. Its body was finally extinguished of the blue flames, revealing nothing more than cracked armor and blackened, scaled skin. His tail had been entirely incinerated in the explosion and its mid chest up had blown up along with everything else. A single blackened horn lay a few meters away buried in debris. Black blood smeared the glass rubble like shiny oil and firelight gave it an orangey glow. The rest of his body reflected the light of the flames that burned around them.

Ino stared down at the corps of her old adversary for what seemed like an eternity.

She didn't say anything, do anything, or think anything. She simply took it all in.

A trillion feelings and thoughts could have rushed through her head, but they remained at bay for the time being. Though they were sure to surface in future nightmares.

Ino wanted to move, but she seemed to have forgotten how. Her legs ached and cried for deliverance from the stress that they were under, but she hardly noticed them. She just looked at the demon.

Gaara lurched forward in attempt to follow Ino. He tried to avoid the flame in front of him but ended up falling over. He landed next to something sharp buried in the sand, and something smooth too. He pulled it out, it was her whip.

Gaara gripped the whip and staggered over to where Ino was standing. He held it out to her.

Ino seemed to snap out of whatever trance she had been in when she saw Gaara and her whip. The blanket was still tied around hip arm and he was a mess. Soot smeared across his cloths and face, and the tips of his long coat were slightly burnt. Ino was sure she looked the same.

Ino extended her hand, and took the whip from Gaara with a slight nod.

He wobbled a little and she grabbed his wrist to steady him. He finally slumped over and slid to the ground. Ino crouched down next to him and propped him up against the blood slicked body of the demon.

She slid her hand out of his, with their fingertips lingering on each other for a brief minute before she stood up.

Ino turned and began to sift through the sand, looking for something.

Gaara was tired. For some reason this battle had exhausted him. He sat there with his back up against the warm body of the dead dragon. Fighting legendary creatures was not the easiest of tasks. After all, it had apparently ripped Ino's arm out of her body.

He wondered how that had happened.

In fact, over the past few days he had found himself growing more and more curious about the mysterious girl's past. Even the past that she claimed not to know.

He looked up, Ino had returned. In her hands she held an indigo eye and in the other a golden chink of metal. She slumped down at last next to him. "This was all that I could find." She told him. She attached the metal to her whip and coiled it back into the handle. Then she sat up with a groan and came over to rest in front of Gaara.

She leaned in close and held up his left arm wrapped in the charred blanket. Gingerly, she unwrapped it. The burn underneath was red and bubbling. It was not a pretty sight, and Gaara winced a little when he looked at it.

The indigo eye of Hyacintho rested in her own slightly burnt hand. Ino flipped out her knife and sliced it in half. It split open evenly, like two soup bowls. Each half was filled with a thick black substance, and not even the light of the fire around them could reflect any luminosity in it.

With one hand delicately holding Gaara's injured arm, she dipped her free fingers into the black goop. She proceeded to carefully spread it around Gaara's arm with her fingers, gently coating the painful burn.

It didn't hurt really. It felt almost relieving. Like pouring water on a sunburn, only on a more extreme scale. Her fingers were smooth on his skin. The medicine that she spread on the burnt flesh was like magic, it healed the worst of it almost on contact. It slowly it absorbed into his skin, leaving pink flesh behind. She finished coating his burnt arm, and had used most of the black stuff in doing so. She used what little was left to heal her own burns and wounds.

When she finished, Ino didn't look up to meet his eyes. Her face was completely emotionless. The cackle of the surrounding fire was the only thing to be herd.

Gaara didn't want to break the silence, he was content with just being with her, but not like she was now.

He leaned forward and brought his good hand up to her face and pushed the bangs out of her eyes. He tucked the hair behind her ear and slid his fingers down her cheek.

To his surprise her right eye held tears. They shimmered at the edges of her eyes, threatening to escape. Her eyes, they held loneliness. The kind of deep loneliness that he had felt for much of his youth. She looked as if she knew that he would reject her now. He had seen a part of her that she wanted hidden.

Finally he cupped her face in his hand and brought her head level with his. He looked her dead in the eye with a stern expression on his face.

His voice was soft though as he held her head in his hands. "You are not a monster."

Ino's eyes widened slightly when he said this to her. His words were simple, yet they held more meaning than she could express.

They were words that she had to repeat to herself night after night to keep her sanity. To convince herself that she could live on "normally". But deep within the shadows of her heart, she knew the answer, the real answer.

But when he told her this simple phrase, it changed. It had become absolute, true.

These words changed and Ino changed too.

They affected Gaara as well. They were so powerful that something impossible happened.

Neither of them quite knew who made the first move. Perhaps they finally surrendered to the gravity that had existed between them for so long. Or maybe it was simply the smoke in the air that was messing with their heads.

But before either of them knew it the resistance that they had created shattered into a million shards of glass, like the sand beneath them, and their lips were sliding over one another in a kiss.

The kiss was not passionate or by all means sweet. It was slow, soft, and tinged with the tang of blood. Glass cut their skin beneath them, but the pain was lost. Everything was focused on their lips.

Gaara's hand rested on her right cheek and Ino's hand slid up to his shoulder, begging to draw him closer.

The flames around them cast heat through the cool night air, and seemed to intensify the moment. Its crackles and pops made it almost soothing.

Ino's face had relaxed completely, Gaara's as well, and for a moment there was no Hyacintho, demons, ninjas, wars, paperwork, fire, wounds, or even a village. Just them, the stars, and their kiss.

Gaara pulled away first. He let his hand drop to her side before looking into her eyes again.

Ino leaned forward slightly; she didn't want it to end. She wanted to go deeper, but she knew that now was not the time.

Gaara looked at her; the questions he wanted to ask swirled around in his mind. They burned his tong and threatened to escape all at once. He swallowed them back, settling with just one for now.

"Hyacintho." Ino cocked her head slightly to the side at the mention of the blue dragon's name.

"He…the demon, what is your history with him?"

Gaara asked this question with earnest. Ino now saw that he cared for her as she cared for him. Also that he cared enough for her that he wanted to know about her past. The good and the bad. Ino trusted Gaara, and though she was reluctant, he had a right to know.

"I have a long history with him." Ino said, her gaze trained on the smoldering remains of the demon.

"Tell me." Gaara's hand had come back to her face and shifted her head to face him.

Ino nodded and began.

"The beginning is hazy, I can only remember so much about my earliest time in the demon's kingdom. However I can always remember him." Her eyes flickered back to the demon body.

"Our first encounter was near the beginning. He made an impression on me that day. It was like he knew, he knew how to make an enemy out of me…" Ino began to recite her history with Hyacintho to Gaara.

Near the beginning of her journey when her emotions often took the best of her, and she struggled to survive, she had made an unlikely friend.

One day while she was wandering through the demon's land, she came upon a lone wolf. The wolf was by all means ordinary and nothing special. It was scrawny and shaggy, but its ability to survive made it tough.

When Ino found the wolf, she was starving. Her hunting skills were terrible and she still wasn't ready to take on powerful demons. However when Ino found the wolf, she was overjoyed. Not because she had found food, but because she had found a possible companion.

Ino was lonely. She was not accustomed to the loneliness that she felt, and at that point any companion would do. But the wolf was still an animal, a hungry one, so Ino had to be careful.

From then on, she followed the wolf. She always kept a safe distance from the animal, but close enough to watch it. She studied its hunting abilities, and learned from it.

One day Ino and the wolf came across a demon. The demon had tried to kill the wolf, but Ino had stopped it. The wolf had proceeded to attack the demon along with Ino. Together they killed the beast and eaten its remains together.

The wolf had come to trust Ino, and the two became a team. Ino even gave the wolf a name, Usagi. They hunted together and learned from one another. For the first time since her arrival in the demon land, Ino had felt hopeful. Until Hyacintho came.

It had been a rough week for Ino and Usagi. They had caught nothing for a while and were feeding on nothing but weeds that grew in between cracks in the rocky landscape. Ino was growing weaker with exhaustion, but not once did the thought of killing Usagi come to mind.

The rocks were barren and there wasn't a single life form visible. However Ino couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Usagi was on edge as well.

Then out of nowhere the blue fire erupted, and Hyacintho showed himself for the first time to Ino. They had fought bitterly and with all their strength but…Ino's voice wavered slightly…they simply could not win against him.

The great dragon had smiled the smile that would leave her emotionless for many months to come, and killed Usagi. There, in front of her. He ate the wolf like it was just another meal, and left. Ino couldn't move for days. The barbs on his tail were venomous and left her paralyzed.

She had simply laid there for some time, pleading to dry up and die there. She knew that she would never find another companion, and if she did, Hyacintho would kill them.

Rain came and saved Ino's life, but from that moment on she had changed. Her purpose had shifted from mere escape to hunting. She would hunt down the demons and kill them, every one that she could find. She would study them to find weaknesses and learn about their uses.

The drive to kill made her stronger, and smarter. The demons offered an excellent food source, if you knew what and what not to eat.

However even as Ino became stronger, she still had weak moments. It was in those times of hunger, pain, weakness, extreme loneliness, and sadness that Hyacintho would strike. He often came without warning and they would battle fiercely.

Ino always kept an eye out for him. She learned quickly that it was futile searching for him. He would only be found if he wanted to be seen. But she could still feel him watching her, that cool gaze of his seeping into her bones. Sometimes it drove her to the brink of madness. Paranoia attacks would arrive and she snapped. She attacked everything and anything, even herself…Ino's hand lightly touched one of the scars that ran along her right arm.

The insanity that Hyacintho caused her was so great, that fighting him was a relief. Their quarrels always ended with one of them withdrawing because of a serious injury. Even though Hyacintho tried to kill her for sport, they had formed a respect of some kind for one another. During her fight the great blue dragon would reveal information about the demon's kingdom.

The entire realm of the demons was presided over by the three Daemonium. They mainly ruled because they were the most powerful of all the demons of the entire realm. Hyacintho happened to be the weakest of the three. But then there was another…

Ino's fingers gently stroked the eye that hung around her neck. It greatly resembled the eye of Hyacintho, but it was silvery instead of indigo and it was smaller.

…the body parts of a dragon had special abilities. For example the liquid inside the demon's eye can heal just about anything, and at the time Ino was in dire need of healing.

It had been one of her last battles with Hyacintho. It was dark that night, a new moon. Ino had attempted to raid his nest in search of something that might be of use to her. She stumbled upon a hidden chamber. However before she ever got to see what inside Hyacintho found her.

They fought terribly. Ino had taken it as the battle to end all battles and gave it everything she could. But Hyacintho was dangerous that night and ended up tearing her arm from her body and flinging it into a canyon. It was then that Ino had no other choice but to escape.

She had fled to the canyon and retrieved her arm, which had landed in the river…Ino shuddered at the memory and skipped the ugly details about how she had originally tried to heal it…

One day she was sitting on a rock nursing her arm, when she saw motion at the mouth of Hyacintho's cave. She had moved in for a closer look.

It revealed a small dragon. It was about as tall as her and it was covered in shiny jade scales. The first time Ino saw it she was breathtaken, the creature was beautiful. It gave off an aura of innocence much like a child.

However she knew that it was a dragon, and there was only one way to replace her arm. Ino didn't care if the dragon was an infant or not, a demon was a demon, and she was desperate…Ino looked down as she retold her killing of Calce, the young dragon…It was probably the only time that she had ever felt _guilty _about killing a demon.

God! She was so young that the color hadn't yet taken to her eyes!

Well it was about the time after her escape…another story for another day…that Hyacintho discovered that she had murdered his daughter, because he came. And he came to kill. All respect was gone and Ino had no choice but to flee to the desert where she didn't see him again until their last battle.

Gaara had listened to Ino retell her story to him with patience. Even if it was a bit tragic, he still found it interesting. But Ino wasn't done.

"We killed him, but this battle was different in another way."

Gaara looked at her quizzically, not daring to say a word. As if one wrong comment could send her off the edge.

"Hyacintho…he fought, but not like he should. Something was…off." She turned her head to the carcass.

"It was almost like…he wanted to lose. He didn't really care. He just went through the motions."

She began to twirl a loose piece of hair around her finger.

"He didn't even call me by my name…"

Gaara blinked, he had called her "Ino" last time he checked. Ino noticed his confused expression and a grim smile touched the corners of her mouth.

"My name…my_ demon _name." Her face suddenly darkened. Gaara felt her trembled before she did, and took her hand in his. Ino tried to calm herself by taking in a deep breath.

"One cannot live among the demons, and live like a demon without losing a part of their humanity."

Gaara's mind instantly flashed to the wild Ino that had killed Hyacintho.

" The details are for later, but Hyacintho gave me my name. It was a sign of a worthy opponent. I was...She Wolf." Her voice cracked a little.

"It was such a simple name, but it held honor. I was the female hunter of the demons. Who cared only for herself and only hunted for herself. I was a lone pack of one, bent on freedom and revenge."

Ino's trembling shook the tear out of her right eye and it slid down her face until it dropped onto the bloody ground.

The memories, put into words…it could not justify them. And yet, speaking them aloud made them so much more real to Ino. They filled her head with images and emotion. She tried to suppress them, but that only mad them worse.

Gaara brought his hand back, and looked at her pained face. Her eyes didn't know where to look, so they franticly flickered everywhere, tears threatening to spill from their edges.

Gaara's own sea foam green eyes traveled the length of her body. The fire and smoke around them seemed to have disappeared in the moment, but the heat didn't.

"She Wolf…" he whispered it quietly in his deep voice.

Ino stopped for a brief moment. Her clear blue eyes filled with painful memories met his. The word sank into her heart and tipped her over the razor thin edge. The edge that she had balanced on for years.

Ino managed to take in one last choked breath before she collapsed into tears. Her body crumpling like a broken doll, right onto Gaara.

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry that took a little while. I went on vacation and kind of...checked out. But luckily I had started this befor hand so it didnt take tooo long. <strong>

**Any way, thank you for all of your support! I couldnt be inspired without you!**


	14. Chapter 14

Gaara held the sobbing woman awkwardly in his arms.

Ino's back wracked with the waves of tears that poured down her face. He had placed his hand on her back to try and soothe her, but he really didn't know what to do.

Ino shifted so that her head was buried in his neck and her arms hung off his shoulders. Tears dampened his clothing and made their way into the sand.

Ino finally released all the tears that she had bravely held for the past three years. To her, it was both embarrassing and a relief. She appreciated Gaara for dealing with her as she continued to bawl.

The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon when Ino's sobbing finally began to end. Warm light rays shot through the desert and mingled with the light of the dwindling fire. Ino brought her head up and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. Her bangs were still tucked behind her ear and the morning sunlight made her tear streaked face sparkle slightly.

Gaara looked into her glassy eyes and at her teary face. He reached into a pocket and produced a piece of cloth. Holding the cloth, he gently dabbed at her cheeks. He wasn't quite sure on how to comfort her, but he tried.

Ino stared at Gaara's dirty features as he sensitively dabbed at her own. He wiped away the tears that she had cried; he didn't even seem annoyed with her.

She began to take in every last detail of his face. His sea foam green eyes, his forehead scar, his hair the color of wine, and his beautiful lips. She gazed at his lips with longing.

Among all the dark emotions and the muck of pain and sadness, something new emerged. Like the first few rays of sunlight smudging away the dark, a new light began to shine within Ino. A familiar light, returning to her.

The feeling of warmth coursed through her body. It filled every last space in her mind. As the feeling grew, it began to overtake her senses and threatened to spill out of every pore.

Slowly it began to leak out.

* * *

><p>Gaara finished wiping her face of the tears, and had put the used cloth on the ground next to him. His gaze wandered to the horizon and the rising sun. He could already feel its heat beginning to warm the sand. Something came to rest on his knee and he turned his head towards Ino. Gaara's eyes widened slightly at the sight he saw.<p>

Ino smiled at Gaara. The warm feeling that had swelled inside her radiated out of her features, and it made her ten times more beautiful.

Her lips curved upward and light seemed to glow with her suddenly miraculously blue eyes. Her cheeks were tinged with a soft pink and her posture had relaxed.

Gaara was so enchanted by her smiling features that he failed to notice her leaning towards him.

Before he knew it, Ino's lips had connected with his for another kiss. His face froze for a moment with shock before finally giving in.

Ino's hands wrapped around his as she pulled herself closer to him. Their lips still locked, he moved with her until he was completely up against the body of the dragon.

She moved her lips slowly against his. Gaara parted his lips slightly and moved with her.

They kissed, slowly and passionately before pulling away from each other, their breathing labored somewhat.

The sun had dyed the sky a lovely shade of pink. It reflected down onto Ino's hair, giving it a soft glow. The effect led to her looking very small and delicate within the harsh landscape.

Ino looked at Gaara, and Gaara looked back. The new emotions that had filled her up had solidified into a quiet thought that turned into a beautiful kiss. At long last the feelings had taken shape and formed words.

They rested on Ino's tong and were increasing in size and number. She had to say them before they exploded out of her mouth, out of control.

Ino looked into Gaara's eyes, took in a deep breath and attempted let the words tumble out of her lips. "Gaara I…ah…I…I" Gaara saw her struggle to speak and quickly silenced her with another kiss.

Ino let out a small breath after he pulled away. Why was it so hard to just _tell_ Gaara her feelings for him? Feelings…that was the problem. It had been a long time before she ever had to connect with them, and she guessed that she was just a little out of practice.

Ino's tong tongue traced the spots on her lips where Gaara had touched her, guess actions speak louder than words. Ino would wait for the perfect moment, she had to be sure.

Gazing back at the horizon, Ino dwelled on the thought. It was strange, she felt familiar with this feeling and yet, she couldn't remember when.

Remembering made her brain ach, so she let the subject drop and returned to the present situation.

"We should return, the others should be awake by now, and will be wondering where we are." Ino nodded at Gaara, he was right.

"But the body…we can't just _leave_ it. There is still so much that can be collected and used…" Gaara waved his hand, telling her that he had already planned for it. "Tomorrow you and a team of shinobi will travel out and collect the remains. By then the fire should be completely extinguished, and the sand cooled." Gaara moved to stand, telling her that there would be no further discussion on the matter.

Ino teetered to her feet as well, supporting Gaara's arm on the way up. They were both very tired and exhausted. The trip back across the desert was extremely unappealing at the moment, but they headed off any way.

* * *

><p>When they arrived back at the village they were greeted by surprised looks. The pair looked extremely battered and dirty, but Gaara dismissed any questions. He simply said that the issue had been eliminated and explanations would arrive tomorrow.<p>

Ino was tired, so she headed back to the house. She guessed that Gaara felt the same, because he followed.

It was still morning by the time that they finally reached the dusty little home. The pair walked through the door and Ino immediately flopped down onto the couch. She stretched out her aching arms and legs with a loud, high-pitched yawn.

Gaara smirked as he sat down beside her. Ino's attention was suddenly captured by the man sitting beside her on the couch. Her eyes roamed his body before she scooted over to where he was sitting, and leaned up against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and huddle her torso against his finely muscled, exposed left arm.

She found comfort in how he didn't flinch and nuzzled in closer. His body smelled of smoke and blood, it was beautiful. Ino inhaled deeply, taking in his scent.

When they were like this, Ino didn't think about much. No demons, or dragons, or memories longing to be forgotten. She simply focused on Gaara and the feel of his skin, a delight to the senses.

She slowly began to melt into his arms. Even though it was only morning, she still felt tired. Also she could tell Gaara felt the same, by the way that he was beginning to lean into her slightly.

Ino's head nestled into Gaara's neck, and her arms wrapped around his. Sunlight came in through the dusty window and warmed her skin.

The world slowly became fuzzy around the edges. Ino blinked, trying to stay conscious, but she was fighting a very powerful enemy. Slowly the powers of exhaustion won over her, and she was lost to sleep. The last thing that she felt, but couldn't be sure of, was someone pulling her closer, and stoking her hair.

* * *

><p>Gaara watched Ino as she struggled to stay awake. Though she was quickly succumbing to her tiredness. He could tell because of the way she continued to lean into him.<p>

Her skin wasn't silky smooth, but it wasn't rough either. It reminded him of her blanket, which they had safely returned with.

Ino's head nuzzled his shoulder, and he could feel her breath warm on his skin. Gaara wasn't quite sure whether it was electric or soothing.

Heavy lids fluttered, and her head tipped back a little. Sleep was winning, but not without a fight.

Finally Gaara decided that it was time for her to close her tired eyes. Slowly, he began to stroke her smooth blond hair. He continued at a steady pace, feeling the curve of her head give way to a cascade of platinum locks.

It worked. Ino's breath had evened out, and her chest rose and fell undisturbed. Her body had loosened, and he now completely supported her bodyweight. Her features had softened to the same peaceful state that he had last seen her sleeping with. Even the corners of her lips turned upwards slightly.

Why did she have to be so beautiful?

Gaara brought his hand down to rest on her shoulder. Why had he decided to stroke her hair, quite honestly he didn't know.

The past few hours with Ino had all happened in a blur. The kiss…he hadn't seen it coming. Something just…came over him…the moment maybe. Or had the poison from the fire damaged his brain.

He had surrendered to reason, and planning, and just let his instincts take over. If it seemed right, he would kiss her. If he needed to listen to her, he would. Ino did something to him, he couldn't explain what. It was a bit daunting, not being able to put reason onto word, but at the same time it was…it was…how could he describe it?

Gaara pondered this thought for awhile, before exhaustion tackled his weary body as well. His eyes closed in, and he fell asleep, Ino still wrapped around his arm.

* * *

><p>Ino awoke first. Evidently she had fallen asleep holding onto Gaara, but only to further wind around him during the night. Her long arms had found themselves wrapped across his chest and arms. Her head had snugly burrowed into his neck, it was a perfect fit. The rest of her was pressing as close to Gaara as possible. However, she was perfectly comfortable.<p>

The windows washed the room in a soft shade of morning blue. Guess they slept through the entire day _and_ night. Ino didn't fully realize how tired she had been until now.

Gaara stirred slightly in his sleep. Ino took notice and moved her fingers in a lazy pattern on his chest. She nuzzled her head deeper into his neck, and inhaled his scent. She would never get tired of the way he smelled. Another deep breath, she smiled. A couple more minutes of sleep won't hurt.

* * *

><p>Gaara's face twitched. He slowly opened a sleepy eye before fully waking up.<p>

The morning blue room informed him that they had been asleep for some time, the paperwork would be atrocious when he returned to the office.

Gaara went to stretch his stiff muscles, only to become aware of the woman wrapped around him. Her body was uncomfortably close to him, and he felt sort of trapped in her arms…he didn't want to wake her up. Ino's head had burrowed into his neck, and he could feel her surprisingly soft lips brush his skin with every breath she took.

He really needed to get a start on the day and make up for lost time, but he couldn't help but enjoy the moment. It was so…peaceful, and warm.

Ino stirred, her body twitched slightly. Her eyes scrunched up before creaking open. She looked up to meet Gaara's green ones.

"Morning." He whispered softly, his deep voice strained slightly from the lack of use over the night. Then he moved his body forward a little, the signal that it was time to wake up.

Ino complied, and unwound her arms from around his body.

Ino rubbed her tired eyes and stood up from the couch. A quick stretch of her body, and she was completely awake.

A low rumbling sounded in the tiny room. Gaara looked over at Ino and raised one corner of his mouth.

She grinned slightly before pointing her nose to the kitchen in search of a breakfast to satisfy her hunger.

Ino had a stored up a collection of ingredients to cook with, so she started on it right away. Soon the smell of sweet omelets and rice wafted into the living room.

Gaara wandered into the kitchen, attracted by the promise of good food.

Ino stood over the stove preparing the eggs in a pan. Her movements were quick like a skilled chef, but she would stop every so often and inhale the fumes of her cooking. When she was like this, she appeared almost normal.

Gaara leaned against the doorframe as he watched her.

There was no doubt about it, he was _attracted_ to this woman. He had been evading the dreaded admission to himself. But he found that once he admitted it, thing were easier. He didn't have to battle with his mind every time he looked her way, or have to worry every time she looked at him. It was simple, at least on the surface. But eh, at least now he didn't have to fight it.

He let his gaze wander her womanly body. He wasn't skilled in the art of r_eading women_, but he felt that maybe she shared a similar attraction with him too. The kisses that they shared were probably his first tip off.

Ino finished preparing their breakfast and set it out on the tiny kitchen table.

Gaara sat down, he shifted in his seat, it was a bit…gritty. He brushed his hand across the table to find that it was dusted with a layer of sand. Rubbing the grains of sand in-between his fingers, he shot Ino a quizzical look.

She shrugged, "I opened a window one night."

Gaara sighed; he had to remind himself that she was not a native desert dweller, and could not be held accountable for all mindless actions caused by a lack of common sense.

Ino slid into the chair across from him and dug in. Another thing about Ino, for someone so skilled in the kitchen, she had a total lack grace when dining. Perhaps it was another trait that she had acquired from her time _there_.

Ino was famished. She usually could think more clearly after she had something to eat.

The eggs, rice and some fruits helped wash away the murkiness that had accumulated in the past couple days.

Ino glanced over at Gaara who was, willingly, eating the meal that she had prepared. He ate like a gentleman. Ino got that happy feeling again.

She sighed inwardly. The emotions…a whole rainbow of feeling had bombarded her the past couple of days. The emotions would well up inside her and wreak havoc in her mind until another one came to take its place. She felt drained.

The emotions varied from good to bad to undecipherable. She peeked at Gaara again.

Gaara…the emotions that he evoked were different than any other that she had experienced. They were foreign to her yet, she greeted them like an old friend. Feeling that transformed her, like rubbing the tarnish off glass to make it shine again. And she shone. When she kissed him, it was like she had been programmed for it. Her lips knew right where to go, with or without her consent. She became an Ino that not even_ she_ was familiar with. And she didn't hate her…

Gaara stood, "We should go." That was all he said before removing his dishes from the table and depositing them in the sink. Ino looked out the window, the sun had already risen, and they were_ late_. Hurrying, Ino stood, cleared the table, and leapt out the door.

* * *

><p>When the pair reached Gaara's office they found that Kankurō was already there, waiting for them. When he looked up to see the pair together, a perverted smile crept across his face.<p>

However before he could make a single remark, his brother squashed any pervy fantasies he had by coolly walking by him, and shooting him a death stare that could kill a man on the spot.

With any suspicions that he might of had taken care of, his tone returned to business mode. "Temari will be arriving in Suna later today." Gaara had sat down at his desk and selected a file to begin work on. "Already…"he seemed to sigh a little bit. "I assume all preparations have been made, and you will be meeting her as soon as she arrives. I will need a full mission report as quickly as possible."

Kankurō nodded and stood up to leave. But before he could escape the office Gaara had one last thing to say, "Kankurō, I will expect no interference." Gaara's stare was square on the back of the puppeteer's head.

His back still turned to Gaara he gave a slight smirk before raising one hand in a mock surrender. "Fine fine, see you later," and with that he walked towards the door.

But before he left, he stopped, winked at Ino, and was gone.

Ino had watched the coded dialogue between the brothers with interest. It was obvious that Kankurō respected Gaara a lot, and only wanted the best for him. Even if it meant interfering with something, she really wished she knew what exactly. But that wink he had thrown her was confusing, did he know something? Ino didn't fully grasp what was going on either. She just wished someone would come and explain it all to her.

Ino looked over at Gaara, whose face was now hidden completely by towers of paperwork. She groaned inwardly. Paper work. Sometime she thought that she would rather fight demons.

Picking up her work, and settling down into her usual seat, Ino began working on the neglected assignments.

She hadn't even realized that they had forgotten to clean up, and were still a mess from their last battle.

* * *

><p><strong>I had to crank out this chapter in the wee hours of the morning, so I hope you people know that I'm at least <em>trying<em>. Any way, I hope you enjyed the chapter that my sleep deprived brain some how managed to bring together...if you don't like it, tell me. I whould like to hear your input on the story, because right now i have a few diffrent directions that I can take it but i can't seem to come to a decision.**

**Thank you for reading, untill next time...**


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